Inside Post-Pandemic Workspaces – Q&A with Anthony Merlin

Covid-19 has thrown the typical Australian way of working into a spin. Employees have been forced to work from home, and with that have come many challenges as well as many great rewards. In this article, Anthony Merlin, Director at i2C, gives insight into what the post-pandemic workplace may look like.

Is the Typical Workstation a Thing of the Past?

The current workspace ratio of 70% workstations and 30% collaborative/meeting spaces may likely flip in many industries due to Covid-19 highlighting what’s important in a workplace environment.

We will likely see more flexible spaces, moving away from the large-scale open-plan office fit-outs and into designs that incorporate such things as movable furniture to cater for various uses and future changing environments.

Will There be Design Changes Stemmed from Technology? Is Collaborative Technology Geared Towards Remote Working in the New World?

There will definitely be workplace design changes that stem from technology. The pandemic has shown us that corporate businesses can still function without a physical office space. There will be a lot of evaluation into workplace technology, and the re-direction of funds towards agile working.

We’ve noticed that working from home, our national offices have come together, and our team is a lot closer than ever before. To take locality out of the mix means it is the same speaking to someone in a different state as it would be from the same city. Our team are finding that this has broadened their thinking within the workplace and our collaboration as one, unified firm has been significantly enhanced.

Technology has come to the forefront of collaboration during the pandemic, which will pull through to the workplace as teams start to return to the office. We will see collaboration rooms and spaces needing to gear up their technology to allow connections with people and expertise from around the world as video and telecommunication become the “new normal”.

What Contactless Technology is Being Implemented in the Workplace?

Our office has implemented keyless entry and exit technology that is app-based. Swipe and app technology will become more prevalent, and we see such things as visitors getting barcode text messages sent to their phones in advance of a meeting, which would remove the need for written sign-in sheets and visitor access cards. Technological advancements with heat censored scanning and facial recognition will also play a stronger role in future workplace design.