The Nature of the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, human beings are reconsidering the functionality and utility of their interior spaces at home and at work. Forced into their homes for far more hours and far more purposes than they ever imagined, employees leaned into the opportunity to reinvent their living spaces to better suit their new reality. Employers now wonder what a transformed post- pandemic workplace environment should look like. What will it take to bring their employees back to the office? Does safety override efficiency? How will human resources professionals and senior management achieve their goals for bringing reluctant employees back into congregate working areas? What will critical new priorities demand of design and space efficiency professionals? How much might it cost? According to the World Health Organization, 19% of factors that affect our health and wellbeing are directly related to the built environment, making architects and designers key to protecting public health. Simultaneously, design professionals have a once in a lifetime opportunity to advance current thinking about the optimal work environment. The Silverado Roundtable, composed of America’s top workplace greenery design and installation experts, presents this white paper to examine these business and design challenges, and explore the human behavior and response behind the issues. It offers answers architects, interior designers, and human resources leaders can incorporate and implement to give their clients the ability to productively and profitably use their commercial space and push back the pandemic threat to their livelihoods. “For me, it’s a pretty simple concept,” said Edward J. McDonnell, CEO of Botanical Designs in Seattle, Washington. “In our experience, a well-designed space with natural elements makes it easier to recruit talented employees and can better provide those employees with a workplace that is energy lifting, instead of energy zapping. “Design professionals have an opportunity to bring life and a story into a workplace environment. Likewise, companies have a chance to develop or reinforce the culture of their dreams.”