According to research conducted by design and architecture firm Gensler, the vast majority of employees who are now working from home want to return to work after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, with only 12 percent saying they want to continue working from home. Employees who want to return offered a variety of reasons for their preference, with some of the top reasons being to have scheduled meetings with colleagues, to socialize with colleagues, and to be part of the community. Reflecting on these findings, Gensler notes the role of the post-COVID-19 workplace will shift away from a place where people simply go to work, and into a place where people want to be to meet, socialize, and work with each other. Therefore, employers should consider workplace designs and layouts that can help to strengthen relationships among employees and reinforce the organization’s culture and the sense of shared purpose and mission while also making employees feel safe. Just like well-placed stairwells can encourage people to take the stairs instead of elevators, steps such as removing excess seating, installing sanitizing or hand-washing stations, and placing 6-foot floor markers for social distancing can encourage healthy behaviors. Read the article at Gensler.

This primer is part of an ongoing Gensler series about how buildings are being designed to respond to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the May 5 Security and Resilience Update, WaterISAC reported on an air filtration primer published by Gensler.