In the last few months, the traditional understanding of workspace and everything related to it has become irrelevant. Facing a massive transformation at such short notice, all businesses have been struggling to adapt to survive, while employees have been struggling to strike a work-life balance with work infiltrating all aspects of life.

People anticipate that working-from-home might be the ‘New Normal’.

The fact that we have worked for several months now, in the confines of our house and observed working hours and attended meetings is definitely a remarkable feat. Despite the inconveniences that probably still persist, working from home has revealed a few things about the way we perceive work.

Some of these findings will be beneficial for future business ventures.

• It is evident that a portable workplace database is the future. Employees should be able to access work-related data from anywhere if they wish to work from a place other than the workplace. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of easily accessible data.
• The measure of productivity should be based on the quantity and quality of work that gets done rather than how long someone stays in the office. Working smart is more important than working hard.
• The pandemic has made it important to resort to software applications that facilitate communication without the constraint of time. Several people switched to recorded videos, audio texts, shared online writing provisions etc. in the past few months.

However, the work-from-home approach still requires that the employee or employer should have access to a space that is conducive to it. Not everybody has the privilege of a space that is suited for working. A lack of space privileges should not affect anybody’s productivity.

While the work-from-home option has kept a lot of businesses afloat, it is quite obvious that it has not effectively replaced the conventional workplace environment. The excitement to go back to offices, especially on the employers’ part, is evidence that remote working is not an effective long-term solution.

Several countries have started reopening offices with the hope that the pandemic is slowing down. However, the current slowing down in transmission rates does not assure that the workspaces are up and ready for full blown function again. As more and more people go back to offices, it is highly likely that the pandemic will pick up pace again. For all we know, this uncertainty will be the ‘New Normal’.

Serviced office spaces

During the impending unlock phases in several countries, a major concern is going to be the availability of large office spaces where social distancing can be practiced. For most small scale businesses and start-ups, leasing a large office space is not feasible because of the huge capital required for it.

Even for businesses that take on the lease, the fact remains that another lockdown could happen anytime soon and the office space will remain unused, only to eat into your savings. So, how should you respond to the issues? Considering the unpredictability of the current situation, you should get a serviced office space to avoid unforeseen leasing losses while ensuring safety.

Here’s why you should consider serviced office services:

• The most prominent advantage of serviced offices over conventional rented spaces is that serviced office providers offer lease agreements that are as short as 3 months or less.
• A regular rented office space is increasingly becoming cumbersome to manage, with the lag additional expenses and effort of furnishing and maintenance. Serviced office spaces, on the other hand, come furnished.
• As for building maintenance and repair, the serviced office providers themselves take care of the spaces they provide. It is a huge load off of the business owners.
• With work form home as an available option now, the number of people who work out of an office is also unpredictable. A serviced office has the provision of providing additional space at short notice.
• Serviced office spaces also offer provisions where one can get out of the lease citing to unforeseen circumstances.
• Several service offices providers offer innovative and flexible services to businesses, tailor made for the current situation. Services include but are not limited to ensuring that correspondence directed to the office building is redirected to the recipients.
• Short term/replaceable services are often offered by the space providers including secretarial services, receptionist etc.

Once offices open up for business, it will be up to the employers and business owners to ensure that appropriate protocols are in place to prevent another outbreak. An immediate lockdown will only add to the already suffered losses. It is of utmost importance that people observe social distancing in offices.

Staying safe: Social distancing and sanitization in office spaces

Whether you’re deciding to lease the entire office space or use a serviced office, there are some best practices you should follow to ensure the health and safety of you and your employees.

Here are some tips to staying safe in the ‘new normal’ office:

• The first step to reopening the office space should be a thorough cleaning out that includes disinfecting the office space.
• Hand sanitizers and cleansing apparatus should be made available at all office cubicles. Encourage employees to disinfect their gadget surfaces regularly.
• We are used to being in crowded office spaces, buzzing with activity, and constant interactions. Gossiping at the water cooler used to be an important aspect of office life. The pandemic marks an end to crowded office spaces. The new normal will be spacious offices with spaced out individual cabins.
• It is highly recommended that office spaces have carefully spaced out markings on the floors of common areas that ensure a distance of 2 meters between people.
• Separate corridor sides into lanes in such a way that people who go out don’t run into people who are coming in. One-way lanes may be effective for this purpose.
• As for meetings, it is highly advisable to switch to virtual meetings as much as possible, even within an office. In case of an in-person meeting, either one-on-one meetings or spaced out meetings are recommended.

Takeaway

Regardless of challenges ahead, businesses need to do whatever they can to make the most of it, while ensuring the safety of everyone inside the business premise. For that purpose, a serviced office is a viable option, as it allows you to be more efficient with your spending, while enjoying all the available perks.

Make sure that you find the right serviced office that consider service quality and tenant’s safety as top priorities.