Beginning from the transport you used to commute to the office to face to face meetings conducted inside or outside the office, everything that was usual is going to change.
The office environment you worked in is never going to be the same. Get ready to say goodbye to the lunch hangouts you had with your team or jumping from one desk to another to meet and greet your colleagues.
Once the lockdown comes to an end and you resume your office, what all transformation are you going to witness in your office? Let’s find out.
#1. Maintaining personal space
The meetings you attended with 15 other colleagues in a conference room, is not going to happen again. People will fear physical contact and therefore, they will avoid situations which include too many people in a room. Employees will be asked to maintain personal space and meetings will be organized with only a few members physically present.
#2. Company’s own face masks
As per the guidelines, once you step out, you’d be wearing a face mask pretty much all the time. Now, to ensure uniformity amongst employees and keep employees on-brand as they represent the company to others, companies might start issuing face masks with their logo on it.
#3. New office etiquettes
Handshake has been a form of greeting others since forever, like good-morning handshakes or meeting-a-new-person handshake, etc. You won’t be seeing that around anymore. New etiquette rules will be made, keeping in mind that there should not be any physical contact and personal space has to be given to the other person.
#4. Flexible leave policy
There is no denying that the Coronavirus pandemic has shaken us all from the inside and affected our physical as well as mental health. If you or any of your family members are at higher risk, you might need some time off to face the challenges. In such cases, flexible mental and medical leave will be necessary for the employees to focus on the health issues and ensure the safety of their loved ones.
#5. Focused in-person meetings
Remember how you used to attend one meeting after the other? Well, things will change now. The frequency of in-person meetings will be comparatively much less than before, which will ultimately be more valued by the employees. The meetings will be agenda-focused and a lot more productive.
#6. Less travelling for meetings
Before lockdown, you often visited multiple corporate offices to attend meetings face to face and get things done. The scenario has now changed, meetings are held virtually on various video call/conferencing platforms. Working remotely has taught us that it can be as effective as the physical meetings and on top of that meetings have become more purposeful.
#7. No sharing of office snacks
Be it leftover snacks from conferences or snacks served in the cafeteria, which you used to eat to kill hunger pangs, is all coming to an end. Bulk snacks and buffet meals will no more be seen in offices and companies will switch to single-serve solutions to maintain hygiene.
#8. Revised seating arrangements
Hopping from your desk to another to chit-chat, then grabbing a coffee and finally coming back to your desk, will become a thing of the past. New rules will be laid down to control traffic flow in the office and seating arrangements will be reevaluated to ensure there is enough distance between two desks.
#9. Mandatory temperature checks
Before you enter your office campus or building you will be subjected to temperature checks, so, if you feel unwell you better stay at home. The usage of elevators will be minimized as employees will be advised to stay away from the crowd.
#10. Proper care of what you wear and your belongings
Even what you wear to the office needs to be managed. From disinfecting your face masks to cleaning your work clothes, all have to be taken care of on a daily basis. When you reach your office, you’ll need to store your coats and jackets in zipped bags, not just that, your handbags and laptop bags will also need to be wiped off.
#11. Avoiding public transportation
The crowded public transports like trains or buses, you used to commute to your office will no longer be a safe option, for obvious reasons. This is going to adversely impact the environment as people would prefer cabs or their own vehicles to reach the destination.
#12. Attending office even when you’re sick? Not anymore
Be it the pressure of meeting deadlines or attending an important meeting, you must have attended office while being sick. Those days are long gone now. If you’re feeling unwell then you must stay at home, for not just yours but everybody’s safety.
Office culture is going to get a complete makeover only to ensure the safety of their own. Cooperation and compliance are two vital points to be kept in mind before you go back to your office. Be safe, live safe!
Featured Image Courtesy: ColourBox