One of the positive outcomes of the pandemic is the proliferation of innovative design solutions for the post-COVID workplace, whether in terms of sanitation, seamless connection between physical and remote locations, or rethinking the role of the office itself.
In the immediate post-lockdown period the design focus has been on minimising health and safety risk for people at work with strict new hygiene and social distancing rules. ‘Right now, what humans want most is safety, the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’, says Kay Sargent, director of HOK’s global WorkPlace practice: ‘If people don’t feel their basic needs are met, if the bottom of the pyramid is not solid, you cannot achieve the things that are higher up like collaboration, trust, bonding.’