Social Distancing at Work – Where Will the Extra Workspace Come From?

One reality of working life in the shadow of Covid-19 will be the need for staff to maintain a safe working distance from each other. What will that mean in practice?

Companies that have far more square metres of working space than they need have the option of spacing people further apart and maybe changing the use of some areas. Unfortunately, the list of companies with this level of flexibility is pretty short.

Cost-conscious companies don’t buy or rent more workspace than they need. Indeed, in recent times the movement has been in the opposite direction, with hot desking being used as a means of reducing expensive office space. Without more space, the only way to maintain social distancing in the workplace is to limit the number of employees using the space at the same time. Multiple shifts and blended home/office working are both options, but they probably will not optimise productivity, teamwork or customer service in the long term.

It may be that more space is needed – particularly if things were a bit cramped before the crisis. If you do not want to relocate, one option is to look at the space you have outside of the building – and specifically at the space allocated to parking. Could some of that space be put to more productive use but without reducing the number of spaces?

If you have surface-level parking, adding an additional deck or even two decks to some of that area will release space that can be developed, without compromising the parking capacity. You could actually look at using this to increase your parking as more people may now drive to work. This does not just allow the option of giving staff more space, it also adds value to a land asset you already own.

So much for the theory. You also need a simple and practical way to make it all happen. Osborne and Siderpark have developed a modular solution that can add an additional parking deck without needing foundations or a complex building programme. We manage each stage of the process including design, planning consent, assembly, and maintenance.

The modular design allows land to be released and developed in stages for maximum cost-efficiency. Osborne’s in-house construction capability can also bring your new working space into use quickly using modern construction techniques and giving you a complete turn-key solution.

Making better use of land given over to car parking could be the best way to create a more healthy and Covid secure work environment. It also generates the maximum value from land assets – visit our resource centre to find out more.