Postpandemic workplace: Comfy, sterile, or mix of both?

Everybody—from CEOs to frontline workers, design specialists to space planners, Gen Z and Millennials to Boomers—is wondering what the post-COVID workplace will look like. Despite the myriad ideas floating around, the consensus seems to be that only time will tell. Another largely agreed upon notion: The "new normal" will be noticeably different from the offices people abandoned at the beginning of the pandemic.

Changing trends

Some pundits have gone so far as to predict the end of the office as it once was, but most expect a phased return to something that at least resembles prepandemic workplaces. At least at first, things are likely to be different, though. Most expect desks to be spaced out, more touchless features, stricter cleaning practices, and more attention to indoor air quality.

New trends also are expected. Before the pandemic, "resimercial" design—residential elements such as cozy nooks and comfy couches being incorporated into commercial spaces—was on the rise. The idea was to make the workplace so welcoming and pleasant that people would be glad to spend long hours there. The concept goes further than furniture. Many employers eager to create community and make people comfortable at work also offered free food, on-site gyms, even nap rooms.

But as the oft-cited mantra of 2020 goes: COVID changed everything. That means resimercial has been turned on its head. People now are more interested in making their homes work as offices than they are in having workplaces resemble home.