Experts say the office as we knew it is gone, and companies will need one-way hallways, sneeze guards, and other safety measures to let employees return. Here's what it could look like.

Katie CanalesMay 7, 2020, 00:15 IST

The "socially distanced huddle room."Blitz

Scores of white-collar employees have acclimated to working from home instead of the office as the coronavirus disease has altered daily rhythms across the world.
Reopening dates for the workplace are not set in stone, but companies are still readying the office to welcome back employees in an age when physical space is crucial.
Some of the changes will likely include staggered workstations, sneeze guards, one-way corridors to minimize cross-traffic, and perhaps only coming into the office for group work.
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a large focus of the office for companies in the San Francisco Bay Area was to establish a place of work that reflected company culture.

Open floor plans, cereal containers full of free snacks — anything to make the office stand out to recruit the best and brightest talent.

But the modern workplace will see some growing pains as the infectious coronavirus disease prompts many to rethink how we use the office.

Looking into the near future, the office may become a place for only collaborative work. Employers may have to factor in a potential second wave of the disease in the fall. And above all, companies are going to have to figure out how to make people feel safe.

"There's so much more than just putting up screens and disinfectants," CEO Melissa Hanley of design firm Blitz told Business Insider. "There's a human aspect of this that can't get lost in the conversation."

Business Insider spoke to 7 architecture firms in the San Francisco Bay Area about how they're helping clients prepare to reopen offices and welcome back employees who abandoned their desks in March to start working from home.

Here's what the office could look like moving forward — and how the COVID-19 global health crisis may permanently alter how people perceive the workplace.

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Clients have already started supplying employees with more substantial work from home kits, including desks with adjustable height and improved broadband internet.

Employers will have a responsibility to ensure their workers have efficient home office set-ups. Katie Canales/Business Insider

So we will likely usher in a hybrid work movement: equal parts physical office time and work from home.

Open collab spaces Gensler

However, many of us have grown accustomed to working from home, and that's likely to leave a lasting impression.

Virtual collaboration spaces could be used to more efficiently connect employees in the office with those working from home. Gensler

As for the ever-trendy open office floor plan, it's not dead either, according to designers.

A startup's San Francisco office in 2019. Katie Canales/Business Insider

That barrier, coupled with a slew of other factors, is why working from home might become part of a company's real estate portfolio moving forward, Hanley said.

Employees may only go into the office for group work in the near future. Katie Canales/Business Insider

And every firm that we spoke to agrees: one of the biggest challenges is how to get employees from their homes to the office.

A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) passenger rides in an empty train car on April 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

There are a few immovable roadblocks, however, such as the question of elevator use.

High-rises housing Facebook and Salesforce loom in downtown San Francisco. Katie Canales/Business Insider

There may be office cohorts or "neighborhoods" of 30 coworkers that always work together. Going so would establish a social contract and a level of trust so you know everyone who you're around.

The "neighborhood configuration." Gensler

There may be office cohorts or "neighborhoods" of 30 coworkers that always work together. Going so would establish a social contract and a level of trust so you know everyone who you're around.

Then there's the actual structuring of workers for reentry. Moving forward, offices may be more designated for collaborative group work.

The "socially distanced huddle room." Blitz

Robust snack assortments — a longtime Bay Area mainstay — may not have a place in the foreseeable future.

A community kitchen could be staffed by an attendant. Gensler

Traffic flow and direction may need to be considered, such as ensuring workers only move about the office in a clockwise rotation to prevent cross-traffic.

Enacting one-way corridors could minimize the transmission of the disease. Blitz

Conference room density may have to be cut down, with chairs spaced six feet apart, Howder said.

Conference room configurations. Gensler

There's also the option to implement soft architecture for work stations. That could mean placing panels, or sneeze guards, atop desks that allow for more confinement, Galullo said.

"Officles" are seen in a concept design. Gensler

There's also the option to implement soft architecture for work stations. That could mean placing panels, or sneeze guards, atop desks that allow for more confinement, Galullo said.

Workstations will be spaced further apart — you won't have a desk buddy right next to you.

Staggered workstations appear in a Gensler concept design. Gensler

Perhaps the reception desk is less for checking in and more of a home foyer, where you take off your coats and wash your hands.

A Gensler concept design shows a mudroom, with one-way entry. Gensler

So what they're focusing on is counseling companies on how to quickly and efficiently "hack" or DIY their existing office spaces.

A Blitz concept design shows how office space could be partitioned. Blitz

Many clients don't have the capital budgets to support any major spending right now.

Spacing microwaves and other appliances apart from each other could be one precaution. Gensler

It's difficult to plan for the long term, so many clients are training their efforts on the short-term re-entry process.

A Gensler concept design shows possible "collaboration corridors." Gensler

But the disease has been proven to easily transmit through dense office spaces.

Out of the 94 people that sat on the same floor, 79 were in the same section. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shutdowns have been implemented across the world, and the San Francisco Bay Area was the first US region to do so on March 17.

San Francisco on March 16, the day before the shelter-in-place order went into effect. Katie Canales/Business Insider

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Experts say the office as we knew it is gone, and companies will need one-way hallways, sneeze guards, and other safety measures to let employees return. Here's what it could look like.

Clients have already started supplying employees with more substantial work from home kits, including desks with adjustable height and improved broadband internet.

So we will likely usher in a hybrid work movement: equal parts physical office time and work from home.

However, many of us have grown accustomed to working from home, and that's likely to leave a lasting impression.

As for the ever-trendy open office floor plan, it's not dead either, according to designers.

That barrier, coupled with a slew of other factors, is why working from home might become part of a company's real estate portfolio moving forward, Hanley said.

And every firm that we spoke to agrees: one of the biggest challenges is how to get employees from their homes to the office.

There are a few immovable roadblocks, however, such as the question of elevator use.

There may be office cohorts or "neighborhoods" of 30 coworkers that always work together. Going so would establish a social contract and a level of trust so you know everyone who you're around.

Then there's the actual structuring of workers for reentry. Moving forward, offices may be more designated for collaborative group work.

Robust snack assortments — a longtime Bay Area mainstay — may not have a place in the foreseeable future.

Traffic flow and direction may need to be considered, such as ensuring workers only move about the office in a clockwise rotation to prevent cross-traffic.

Conference room density may have to be cut down, with chairs spaced six feet apart, Howder said.

There's also the option to implement soft architecture for work stations. That could mean placing panels, or sneeze guards, atop desks that allow for more confinement, Galullo said.

Workstations will be spaced further apart — you won't have a desk buddy right next to you.

Perhaps the reception desk is less for checking in and more of a home foyer, where you take off your coats and wash your hands.

So what they're focusing on is counseling companies on how to quickly and efficiently "hack" or DIY their existing office spaces.

Many clients don't have the capital budgets to support any major spending right now.

It's difficult to plan for the long term, so many clients are training their efforts on the short-term re-entry process.

But the disease has been proven to easily transmit through dense office spaces.

Shutdowns have been implemented across the world, and the San Francisco Bay Area was the first US region to do so on March 17.