Sustainability has been buzzword in creating efficient workspaces till the pandemic caught us unaware. Now, as we are contemplating commuting to office or, work in a hybrid mode where our homes double up to function as office, the next Gen workspaces need to have more attributes namely resiliency wellness and equity. Technology has proven to be a life saver during the pandemic. Need for touchless or remote operations with seamless connectivity, enabling future ready operations ensuring health and productivity bridging gender gap are new norms in addition to being mindful of efficiency of operations. We are aware of the technological interventions in terms of IoT-connected smart technologies in a building – from Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) to Smart Plugs, to Security Systems – can be controlled by cutting-edge digital solutions and software and powered by green electricity. This is when buildings will be able to attain superior levels of energy efficiency, creating truly digital, productive and connected workspaces.
The panel discussion brought together top industry leaders who shared their takeaways from the pandemic and how they plan to get back their staff to offices and resume operations with necessary changes. Needless to say, technology shall be the heart of resumed operations with health and wellness being the soul of workplaces.
Manish Bahl from Cognizant technologies spoke about return to office for cognizant employees being different from the pre pandemic days. Cognizant has recognized that there are primarily two types of work in the organization; 1) heads down work such as filling forms, making applications etc that neither needs commuting nor collaboration . 2)Heads up work that requires collaboration, as it’s well recognized that collaborative minds bring out innovation at work. Hence the new redefined workplace shall be categorized in three categories, firstly a showroom that shall connect directly with the end customers and clients, secondly, there shall be research and development laboratory spaces to cultivate innovation and finally collaborative party spaces to facilitate collaboration amongst employees. Cognizant has brought out a research piece wherein it has highlighted the need for technological interventions to complement sustainability goals. Driven by mission with a purpose, technology shall be used to enhance business goals and employee productivity.
It’s also well recognized that mental health is as important as physical health and social contact with colleagues and people is crucial to keep employee’s morale high. Hence hybrid workplaces that are AI enabled would be the new norm to facilitate collaboration yet ensuring necessary social distancing.
Jagvinder Mann from Microsoft highlighted that their business has grown in the country and so has the need for workspaces. However, Microsoft is not in a rush to change the workplace culture overnight. They recognize that technology is the king and lockdown has shown us that all work is possible to be done from home without impacting productivity. Changes in Microsoft work environment shall be driven by research. The organization shall focus on health and safety of all employees and would have intelligent monitoring of work places to help them make informed decisions. She also cautioned against data overload and collection of too many data points that may confuse decision making processes.
She said that next gen workforce would demand different kind of workspaces and she feels that it’s critical that we take their views on board before making changes . Our future generation is very
conscious about health and Wellness and lookout for workplaces that provide good work life balance . It’s also proven that healthy people are more productive.
Jagvinder spoke about the need to look at lifecycle operations and deployment of technology interventions based on life cycle analysis. Future workspaces should have the humane concept embedded and provide seamless operations to ease human work and efforts. Technology is a great enabler is easing our work.
Vikas from Adobe spoke about the Harvard study that connects the quality of indoor spaces and indoor Environmental Quality to health and productivity of people . He spoke about setting aside 1% of maintenance budget for indoor environmental quality enhancements , as its proven to increase 6 to 10% of productivity of workforce. Productivity enhancement can be quantified through indicators such as reduced number of leaves taken by employees, adequate sleep cycle less number of visits to doctors etc. He spoke about the fact that people are now used to working from home and there shall be an inertia in bringing employees back to offices. Adobe is thus looking at ways and means of enhancing work space experience and adding to wellness quotient in work spaces. Provisions for sports such as jogging track, basket ball courts etc. shall enable employees to remain fit and agile. Adobe is also putting special filters in high traffic areas for disinfection and special nano coatings on high touch surfaces that shall help in disinfection.
Adobe is introducing wellness sessions to make employees aware of the benefits of healthy eating habits and of ergonomic benefits of using proper furniture. Inclusive sessions with family of employees are getting planned to engage with employees deeply.
Bhupesh from Schneider Electric spoke about use of technology and digitization being the future of workplaces. He highlighted that reactive maintenance never works well. We must be proactive and anticipate issues that may come up in future and take preventive maintenance actions. He highlighted the need for an integrated approach to workplace management and the need for KPIs that have direct impact on health and well being of occupants. The future workplace shall be adaptive in nature offer collaboration yet with social distancing. This can be made possible through use of technology and artificial intelligence. Schneider is at forefront of technology development and offers integrated solutions customized to work place needs. The solutions now shall adapt to new normal and be mindful of the needs of the future in a post pandemic world.
Some of the key takeaways from the discussion:
· Technology is the king but it has to be deployed with a human touch and help in progressing human health and productivity
· The CRE sector shall need to adapt to meet the needs of next gen and to ensure health and wellness of employees.
· Corporations need to consider flexi and hybrid work models to ensure productivity and allow employees to have better work life balance.
· Buildings and systems need to be monitored and maintained to ensure health and safety of employees.
· Maintenance budget needs to include budget for better indoor environment quality.
· HR functions in corporations should include employee wellness programs in form of nutrition counselling, stress management , ergonomic training, fitness programs etc.
· AI and IOT enabled integrated workplace management tools should be provided to enable seamless operations and better employee experience.
· Circularity is use of spaces should be practiced to optimize work space requirements