5 positive changes for the workplace emerging from lockdown

Thank you Alison Monteith of Monteith Scott for provoking thoughts on the impact on real estate and the workplace by COVID-19.

The impact on the workplace

It's obviously a huge subject. I think there is always a difference between what should happen and what will. Commercial real estate and infrastructure are and will continue and is much needed. Also there is a macro economic impact of COVID on the sector and individual company tactical responses depending on their commercial agility and financing. Real estate is and should always be a long-term play and I don't see a massive macro deviation.

However, if we focus on workplace and the way we work, I see several positive changes that companies are starting to find beneficial. These are increasing productivity and so I am positive will stick.

1. There will be a continued trend in flexible office space where companies can switch their costs on and off with demand and need.

2. There will be an increase in working from home. There's an overwhelming response from people that Skype and Teams has increased their productivity (e.g. 1 hr meetings becoming 20 minute), coupled with saving 2 hours on travel time. People still want to get back to the office and that one-to-one human interaction is essential for most of the time, but I see an increase in 1-2 day a week working from home for many offices.

3. The result of this is reduced strain and need for occupancy levels at the office. Traditional desking and meeting room occupation is not necessary.

4. With these changes there is a desire for increased network connectivity, resilience and cyber security from companies such as Convergence Group. Many companies largely ignored it during the WannaCry ransomware cyber-attack in 2017 when it hit firms in a short burst. They got over it, put it to the back of their mind and network investment didn't get the airtime it deserves as an enabler and a necessity. This time it is hitting firms over a longer period and this time there is a critical need for connectivity and security from the workforce. With demand, occupancy and productivity gains the business case will become obvious.

5. In the workplace there’ll be a requirement for better AV and video connectivity and interaction from companies such as Vanti (incl private video pods) in line with this productivity shift. Video meetings will become more normal reducing travel and meeting time. Recruitment firms can meet 3x more candidates in a day for example or long-distance client visits that really don’t warrant the travel. People are more comfortable with the tech and its interactivity will continue to improve.

What is true is that COVID-19 is temporary and there are longer term infrastructure ambitions in the decarbonisation of buildings and also the acceleration of 5G (West Midlands 5G), IoT and connectivity that need to continue. These developments if they were in place now would put us in a better position. They would keep safe NHS front line staff, improve social distancing interaction and allow the economy to continue remotely. Drones, remote medical provision, holographic meeting interaction, autonomous travel, food processed with non-human interaction will become new norms. COVID-19 is creating new transitional norms, tech is accelerating them.