C2S Talks To Dave Giles, Abbey Business Interiors About 2021
As Abbey Business Interiors enters its thirty second year we find ourselves being asked what the office environment may look like going forwards? And how will restaurants and café’s survive in a post Covid world too?
Simply there is no single answer – some companies will have thrived and prospered through home-working, some companies will have got by and some companies will have struggled.
Understandably, there will be a lag in companies going back into the office once vaccinations have taken place, for many organisations there won’t be an immediate full return to the office. From our collective years in industry and working through various workspace changes we believe that businesses will implement a 2-3 days per week working from home structure with the flexibility to reduce that to 1-2 days a week in time.
The drivers for this will be the ability to make the workplace safe and feel safe for employees. Businesses that require a more creative and collaborative approach to their work will race back to the office to boost productivity.
With employee wellbeing becoming a hot topic for all business leaders and their teams we assume the government will tighten up the employers health and safety responsibility towards their employees when working from home, it could even potentially introduce a working from home tax!
The hospitality industry is clearly going through tough times, it is a sector we have worked in across many projects. For some time to come there will be a need to have more ‘outside’ eating and drinking facilities and like many others the whole industry will need to adapt to the new world and the way we live in it, just as they have continuously throughout this pandemic.
In summary no one really knows – all we can say is that with many years of industry experience the Abbey team are well placed to advise on the requirements of organisations, large and small.
Our design team has scoped many offices in the last ten months, as well as advising hospitality venues on how to space their restaurant areas to remain safe, whilst maximising their footfall and most importantly ensuring they are COVID-19 secure.
