April 7, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic is very likely to leave an indelible print on the open office concept that has been so popular for years. The large communal office model will not survive the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated anxiety of being within six feet of others.
Going forward most organizations will move away from crammed open-concept office spaces and adopt a blend of in-person meetings (in pristinely sanitized meeting rooms with mandatory use of PPE) and remote/virtual options. Working from home will be the new “office”.
This will lead to a reconsideration of how much office space an organization needs, as the required footprint will decline due to mass layoffs and the remote working trend. This would raise commercial vacancy rates and put financial pressure on commercial landlords and the banks that finance them.
Certainly not “business as usual”… When this pandemic subsides we need to redesign the “new normal”.
