From autonomous cleaning devices to tighter cybersecurity measures, we illustrate the technologies influencing how the office could look during the reopening process and beyond.
Outbreak prevention, worker safety, and employees’ peace of mind will be top concerns for businesses around the world as they begin to reopen their office doors in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A host of technologies are emerging to help address these concerns, in turn shaping the future of the office space.
- Touchless entry access points will help keep employees safe as they move through the lobby, take the elevator, and enter the office. These can be controlled via smartphone or by simply waving a hand.
- Hygiene is top of mind for employers and employees alike. Self-cleaning handles, disinfecting robots, and other autonomous cleaning solutions can operate in spaces like bathrooms to maximize safety.
- Spatial intelligence and people-counting sensors can help management teams monitor social distancing practices and also understand how employees use the space to make thoughtful design decisions.
- The office kitchen is a particularly high-touch, high-traffic area. It can benefit from low-touch and voice-enabled tech that allows employees to safely control appliances, fill up on coffee, and more.
- On-the-go HR tools that emphasize wellness — including mental health apps — will be essential to keep workers engaged, from non-desk employees to those regularly working in the office.
- Remote collaboration tools will accommodate both remote work and altered in-office work setups by providing virtual shared workspaces, including digital whiteboards, VR conference rooms, and more.
- Smart building solutions can help maintain safety and keep costs in check by more precisely managing temperature and energy output, as well as monitoring filter maintenance and building density.
- While cyber attacks are not a new threat, an increasingly remote workforce creates newly at-risk endpoints. Cybersecurity tech can help safeguard business operations and protect sensitive customer, employee, or patient data.
As employees move about the office, here are some of the new considerations and technologies that could impact each part of the working day.
For more, read our full report on Reopening: The Tech-Enabled Office In A Post-Covid World.