What Are The Barriers To Office Return?

Posted by Pathfindr on 8th October 2020 -

The UK government has announced a new campaign to encourage employers to reopen office workspaces and for employees to return to them. As part of this, employers will be asked to reassure staff it is safe to return by highlighting measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

However, it would be fair to say that attitudes on returning to the office following COVID-19-enforced home working are a mixed bag.

Employers and employees both have their understandable concerns, and in many cases this has led to decisions not to move away form home working where it isn’t necessary to do so. So what are these barriers, and how might employers look to find solutions where they are needed?

Recent research by the BBC revealed that 50 of the biggest UK employers have no plans to return all staff to office full-time. One of the primary reasons for the lack of a substantial return was that companies couldn’t identify ways of accommodating staff in large numbers while meeting social distancing guidelines – which look set to be in place for some time.

From an employee point of view, a wide ranging global study published in the Financial Times  reveals that workers in the UK are among the most concerned globally about a return to their normal workplace. Concerns over hotdesking and public transport were cited in particular when it comes to staff apprehensions.

Companies we are working with closely at Pathfindr are taking a risk-based approach to workplace return. Most of the time it comes down to the needs of a business. If a company physically produces a product then of course it needs staff on site. But if its delivers a service that can be offered via home-working, it’s a judgement call: can that service be delivered more effectively when staff are together, is it a business that thrives on the creativity that comes from face-to-face staff interaction?

Finding solutions

For those companies that decide office working, even in a reduced capacity, is preferable to full time home working, they need to make sure the reward outweighs the risk. This is where solutions that mitigate risk can help give companies and their employees the confidence to return.

Aside from our Safe Distancing Assistant customers in the industrial sector, including manufacturers and engineering firms, we’re also working with a number of large organisations whose main premises are offices. This includes banks and financial organisations, professional services firms, healthcare companies, universities, IT services, and media and creative companies.

These organisations are now using our lightweight device – which emits an audible alarm when two people get within a certain distance (adjustable depending on company policy) - to help maintain social distancing, as part of a wider set of measures to keep their workspaces safe.

For employers, the devices have given them the confidence to be able to meet social distancing guidelines and limit the potential for human error. They have also helped companies maximise the capacity of their workspaces under COVID-19 restrictions – a major factor in deciding whether to return or not.

For employees, the devices provide peace of mind and allow them to go about their working day focusing primarily on the work not on their distance from others. We’ve also found that the devices play a role in maintaining office harmony – the beeps do the job of saying “you’re too close to me” without employees needing to voice it themselves. People simply step away when they hear a noise or notice a vibration.

While many employers, including large companies such Facebook, have ruled out a return to the office until at least next year, many are making plans to do so this year. With the government strengthening its message on the subject, will we see the majority of companies start to return to normal operations?