What will the future of offices look like? SBV CEO Amit Raizada has a few ideas.

Office culture occupies its own niche in the American cultural psyche. From popular television shows like The Office and Mad Men to our own lived experience, many Americans hold similar views about what an office environment should embody.

But as the country beings to emerge from COVID-19 lockdown orders and employees return to their desks for the first time in months, the scene to which they will – and should – return will look markedly different than the one they left in March.  

Office spaces are often incubators for virus outbreaks. Employees are crowded into close quarters where they breathe the same recirculated air, touch the same door handles, and eat at the same conference tables. This will need to be addressed as we enter the post-pandemic world.

Office spaces will need to conform to our new normal, a reality in which COVID-19 cases could come roaring back at any moment. In many cases, these reforms aren’t optional, they’re required if owners wish to reopen their spaces once again.  

To gain some perspective about how office managers can rearrange their spaces to better fit these new mandates, we sat down with venture capitalist and Spectrum Business Ventures CEO Amit Raizada. With more than two decades of experience as an executive and office manager, Raizada shared key insights into how businesses can recalibrate their offices to comply with new state and local guidelines.

Plexiglass

The fundamental challenge that businesses will face as they being to reopen their offices, Raizada said, is devising a way to incorporate social distancing into their workflow.

But office managers may not need to develop a new system, Raizada said. Instead, plexiglass could help do it for them.

“It’s going to be very difficult to ensure that employees maintain six feet of physical distancing at all times,” said Raizada. “Consider erecting plexiglass panels between your employees’ cubicles. These will allow employees to see and communicate with one another but will help contain pathogens that could be spread through coughing or sneezing.”

The goal is not to silo employees off from one another, Raizada said, but to enhance cooperation while limiting physical contact.

Staggered Start

Despite the advantages that plexiglass shields may offer, they may not be effective in every type of office environment. Workspaces with limited employee-to-square-foot ratios may not be able to effectively utilize this solution.

In that case, Raizada recommended that office managers develop a staggered start schedule.

“Divide your team into two or more groups that logically correspond with the ways your firm conducts business,” Raizada said. “Then have each group alternate days working in the office. Since only half of your staff will be using your office space at any given time, it will be significantly easier to physically distance.”

Raizada said that office managers should consider holding team-wide Zoom conference calls every morning, so that staff members working in the office will still be able to interface with those working from home.

An end to the water cooler chats

The office experience and the physical layout of an office space are often inextricably linked, Raizada said. COVID could change that.

“In my offices, we would always place a basket of collective snacks and drinks in the kitchen that any employee could consume. We would even encourage employees to bring their own food to share. But that – unfortunately – must end,” Raizada said. “Sharing food and drinks will a major taboo in the post-COVID world, and it poses a liability to any office.”

Traditional employee break spaces could be permanently upended. The days of discussing football or politics around the office water cooler are likely far behind us.

Raizada, however, maintains that office managers do not need to fully sacrifice office morale and fraternization in the name of public health.

“Instead of break rooms, encourage your employees to take a short stroll outside,” Raizada said. “Two or three employees at a time can go for a five-minute walk around your office’s block. They can talk, collaborate, and build connections while maintaining physical distancing and avoiding confined spaces. It’s a win-win.”