What do you do if you head an international operation that owns 42 floors of prime midtown office space that’s been largely empty since March of 2020? If you’re the CEO of one of Wall Street’s top investment banks speaking to your staff, 90% of whom are reportedly vaccinated, you tell your employees that it’s time to get back to work in person.
It was a comment that reverberated around Gotham in June. During an investing conference that addressed commercial real estate concerns, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman had a sharp message to workers of the investment giant’s headquarters at 1585 Broadway. “If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office. And we want you in the office,” he said.
And while Gorman’s comments fell short of a full-on ultimatum, his message to his high-paid workforce was clear. “If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York. None of this ‘I’m in Colorado…and getting paid like I’m sitting in New York City.’ Sorry. That doesn’t work,” he said.
While the pandemic may not be over, the days of 100% remote work are most certainly numbered. But what will a post-COVID workplace look like?
THE ONLY THING CONSTANT IS CHANGE
The emergence of new variants has caused guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to morph almost daily. This not only moves the goalpost for office reopening but also physical requirements moving forward. But even through daily uncertainty, several industry experts are united in predicting two significant changes to workplace environments that lay out some busy days this fall for office furniture providers, makers of teleconference equipment, and New York City electrical contractors.
RE-PLANNING THE OPEN PLAN
Open office floorplans were a trend that seemed popular with everyone except those who had to work in one. In January 2020 – two months before the shutdown – Inc.com published an article titled “Everyone Hates Open Plan Offices. So Why Are They Still So Popular?” in which a Harvard study that was cited stated: “Rather than prompting increasingly vibrant face-to-face collaboration, open architecture appeared to trigger a natural human response to socially withdraw from officemates…”
A University of Sydney study similarly noted: “Enclosed private offices clearly outperformed open-plan layouts… particularly in acoustics, privacy and the proxemics issues. Benefits of enhanced ‘ease of interaction’ were smaller than the penalties of increased noise level and decreased privacy resulting from open-plan office configuration.”
Unassigned seating plans – the byproduct of the open office – will also likely be rethought given health concerns. Conventional wisdom says that most employees aren’t going to want to share keyboards or (worse yet) phone headsets that aren’t solely dedicated to their use. Moreover, a pre-pandemic 2020 Gensler Workplace Study found that “workplace effectiveness was in decline. And those in unassigned seating were struggling the most.”
Gensler suggests that “Organizations will need to develop innovative space reservation programs to balance space utilization, employee and team schedules, and safety considerations.”
ENHANCED CONFERENCE SPACE
Remember the days when a high-tech multimedia conference meant a projector hooked up to a laptop and speakerphone placed in the middle of a table? With a future that will likely have a small to significant number of employees working either hybrid or remotely, the ability to harness technology to seamlessly bring teams together will be paramount for 21st-century teambuilders.
One such company that is at the forefront of employing the latest in technology is consulting firm EY, which has installed the latest in telepresence technology to give team members the feeling of being in the same room, even if they’re scattered across the country.
“We’ve had hybrid before—not necessarily at the scale of everyone working from home—but to link together multiple offices around the world,” Jeff Wong, global chief innovation officer at consulting firm EY told Fast Company. EY’s solution was to build a conference room that creates an immersive experience that includes numerous large screens, microphones, and top-of-the-line audio. “I call it the Starship Enterprise,” Wong quipped.
However, firms without the resources to install space-age systems can still see major gains with modest investments in technology. Rachel Zsembery, vice president of Boston-based workplace design firm Bergmeyer sold Fast Company that the most essential component in a conference room is the right type of audio.
The 21st-century office is evolving, and PK Electric NYC is here to provide top-notch commercial electrician services to meet the changing needs. As the fall season approaches, it’s important to consider outdoor heating systems to create a comfortable and inviting workspace. Our team of experts also specializes in 24/7 emergency electrician services, ensuring that your office is always powered and secure. Additionally, we offer intercom installation services to enhance communication within the office environment. Whether you need residential electrical services or electrical panel wiring, PK Electric NYC has the skills and experience to deliver exceptional results. Trust us to transform your office into a cutting-edge workspace of the future.
At PK & Altman Electric, we know that outfitting your post-pandemic office with new technology can be overwhelming. We work closely with designers, architects, IT departments, and general contractors throughout the installation process. Nothing could be worse than investing a significant sum of money into your post-pandemic office only to have a city inspector come in and shut you down over a violation. Hiring a licensed and insured electrician like PK & Altman Electric is a guaranteed way to avoid this from happening.
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