It’ll come as no surprise to you when we say that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused seismic shifts all across the globe in a myriad of different ways. But as well as creating instrumental shifts in the manner in which businesses develop and deliver their services and products, it has also caused changes in the way employees engage with the world of work. 

After months of working at home, returning to an office space that is the same as when they left is illogical and unsafe, so we are here to update you with how office spaces must be designed and managed in a post-COVID world.

What is important to consider, firstly, is that after months confined to working at the kitchen table from the comfort of their own homes, employees must see the office as a pleasurable and enticing environment to enter. This means giving the office a more accessible and fun ‘campus vibe’ with amenities, coffee facilities and attractive workspaces. This idea plays into the Hub Principle; the concept that the office is a central hub where workers come together to collaborate and innovate, since independent work can be effectively completed at home. 

Keeping this in mind, sofas, coffee tables and large meeting rooms are going to become all the more necessary in order to give employees the chance to embrace the office experience, enjoy each other’s company and relish the chance to see each other in person. Collaboration and communication needs to be prioritised, as it is at the heart of post-COVID office developments. 

And whilst this amicable environment is of huge benefit to employers, what is essential is having the correct approach to health and safety. 

Reducing density and cleaning is not enough to ensure safety, and lots of workplaces are being really inventive in creating fantastic ideas to provide a safe environment for their workers.Through sanitation stations, social distancing measures, outside spaces and more, offices must develop to ensure the safety of all their staff. 

As regulations during the pandemic are ever shifting, it is also key that office spaces are adaptable spaces that are flexible to changing needs. Furniture should be light-weight, easily movable and reconfigured to help with sanitisation, and provide the flexibility to change your floor plans when needed. Meeting rooms need to provide enough space that they can adapt to a range of numbers of employees, whilst remaining socially distanced. Having this flexibility in your office space will ensure that you are ready for whatever is thrown at you.

Here at 12 King Street, we have used the pandemic as a way to reflect and seek to better our office spaces even more. We’ve worked to new standards with improved hygiene specifications, contact tracing and physical distancing measures. 12 King Street is a Smart enabled building incorporating Internet of Things sensors throughout and a Building Management System which provides a whole host of solutions in ensuring our office spaces are COVID- secure and an exciting opportunity for companies. 

To ensure the safety for all who work at 12 King Street, Leeds, we offer intelligent fresh air management, zoned heating and cooling through intelligent sensors and automatic LED lighting controls with presence detectors to create airflow and minimize the need for touchpoints. 

Our communal sky lounge provides the opportunity to have meetings outside, both beneficial for wellbeing and for those more safety conscious who are seeking to minimize contact as much as possible. All of this when coupled with our excellent management system, fully automated Smart Access Control, full CCTV coverage, and technology programme that interacts with tenant installations, ensures a safe and COVID secure environment. 

As a space dedicated to flexibility, excellence and a unique tailored experience, we have welcomed the challenge of making our office spaces appropriate for use in a post COVID-world.

And that’s it

If you’d like to find out more about 12 King Street and how we can support your business growth, get in touch with our agents Knight Frank on 0113 246 1533 or Fox Lloyd Jones on 0113 243 1133.

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