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Return to the Workplace
Offices Balance Productivity with Peace of Mind
by Bill Sessa
As the Capital Region slowly winds its way through a kaleidoscope of colored tiers toward a post-pandemic reawakening , many business owners and their employees are returning to an uncertain environment that may have been permanently changed by the COVID-19 restrictions of the last year .
Offices that have been empty and quiet will once again bustle with returning workers — though perhaps not as many as in the past , as the distinction between work and home remains blurred . Those office doors may also open to an unfamiliar setting , as employers balance the need to work with a new and urgent need to keep employees safe and healthy through the implementation of new floor plans , more intense cleaning routines and other precautions .
“ There are so many layers to this and no sector is going to be exempt from having to make changes ,” says Christine Horton , a principal at Corporate Design Group , Inc . Horton says that “ some clients are still shell-shocked because there is so much confusion over what is required , but employers need to adapt to this work style , even if they are dealing with things they ’ ve never dealt with before .”
Some of that confusion and anxiety undoubtedly will be dispelled as virus cases decline and vaccinations rise . But businesses and their workers may have new expectations of one another . A recent Gensler Research Institute survey of U . S . workers across 10 industries and all ages and seniority levels revealed that 81 % would prefer to go back to the office post-pandemic ,
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