As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, working from home has become the norm for many businesses and professionals. In fact, experts at the World Economic Forum (WEF) even predict that this work setup will prevail even after the pandemic ends. But now that more and more people are getting vaccinated in the United States every day, more businesses are opening their offices again. If some professionals have permanent work from home setup, more of them have begun using a shared workspace to help them get out of the house after spending an entire year in it.
Now that more workers are getting back out there and working in offices or shared workspaces again, it’s time for you, business owners, to think about accommodating your employees’ needs in terms of accommodations. You can either invest in redoing their offices or invest in monthly fees of shared workspaces. And to help you understand what your employees might need for a workspace, these are the rooms that would greatly benefit your employees and your business.
Shared Working Area
The remote working setup has its many ups and downs. On one hand, it certainly helped maintain people’s health safety against the coronavirus. But, on the other hand, it made working much more challenging. One of the things that this setup affected is the ability to collaborate. Of course, it was still very much doable while remote working. But it’s different from actually being in the room with their co-workers.
This is why if you and your employees opt to go back to the office, then it would be good to invest in a shared working area. Here, they can work on projects together, rebuild their camaraderie, and accomplish many things for your company.
Upgraded Meeting Room
Working together again means ending the need to conduct Zoom conferences. No one could deny that Zoom, Google Meet, and other video conferencing platforms have certainly helped businesses survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. But no one could deny, too, that many people are eager to get back out there and start holding meetings in person again.
This is why you should think about upgrading your office’s meeting rooms. After months of not using them, they at least deserve an upgrade. Invest in much more comfortable chairs. Repaint the room to make it feel new. And, most of all, upgrade the technology there for possible video conferences with clients and co-workers living in faraway places. This means considering soundproofing the room and getting new cameras and screens. Yes, more businesses are opening their doors again. But travel to far places, especially overseas, is still highly risky and, in some areas of the world, restricted.
If you don’t have an office space yet, then you can definitely try out the meeting rooms that you can rent from shared workspaces.
Wellness or Recreational Room
For most offices, having a break room is the standard. It’s crucial for employees to have a room where they can eat their lunches, take coffee breaks, grab a snack, and have a chat with their coworkers. But you can always upgrade this, too. If there’s one thing that we learned during the pandemic and the rise of remote working, it’s the dangers of overworking and burning out. So, to help end this culture of miserable employees, always encourage them to take breaks and get energized, so they could feel refreshed and ready when they get back to work.
In a wellness or recreational room, you can set up a lounge area. Perhaps, you can even add a television or some games. And snacks — always make sure that the room is stocked with snacks. This way, your employees can take a few minutes to wind down when the heavy workload is starting to get to them.
Creative or Brainstorming Room
In many workplaces, a research room is essential. Law firms have libraries and file rooms where employees can access law books and case files to help them with their legal work. Laboratories have libraries as well, filled with textbooks, academic journals, and other resources to help them with their experiments. Not all companies need such research rooms. But many of them certainly need rooms for their workers to sit and think of creative ideas.
This is why companies should think about investing in a room solely for brainstorming. You could fill this room with inspirational boards — the kind that people do on Pinterest. You can also fill it up with books, magazines, artwork, and other things that will encourage your workers to think creatively.
Remote working has certainly benefited many workers and companies. But, in truth, nothing could beat the benefits of working together in person. By investing in the building or renting of these rooms from shared workspaces, you are also investing in your employees.
