We’ve got good news: 2020 is almost over. For many, this was a year with seemingly no end, hurling changes at us what often felt like every day. Among the most profound have been the changes made to our daily professional routines. As the mother of innovation, necessity forced companies to creatively adapt their key practices to keep staff safe. Businesses also took on existing and new technology that will continue to be part of their core processes even long after the pandemic subsides. These new tools and workflows can provide us with renewed hope and optimism as we move into the new year. Here are some of the things that we can look forward to in our work lives in 2021.

#1: A Renewed Emphasis on Visitor Tracking

The plight of having an ever-present knowledge of who is in your facility has now become more critical than ever. For that reason, visitor tracking will become an even more prominent tool in the year ahead. Implementing an adapted workflow that includes 24-hour advance notification for visitors, limiting spaces where visitors can go, and a wearable that tracks their movement within your facility will create a safe and transparent environment for everyone to work within.

#2: A Better Understanding of Occupancy Workflows

Whereas our first subject described who was in your building and where they went, the second addresses how many individuals can occupy your facility at a given time or throughout the day. Businesses must be ready to take on workflows that educate staff on each room’s capacity limits within a facility. All employees must understand each space’s capacity within the facility, either through clearly identified markings, proactive communication, or a mix of both. Limiting the number of employees in each given space is the new reality, and as the year moves forward, this practice will become the accepted norm.

#3: A Return to the Outdoor Workspace

Facility managers have done their best to imagine what a COVID safe workplace would look like and create that space for employees; many managers have found a way to move part of their business operations outdoors. By making an outdoor area with all of the necessary furniture and functionality of a traditional indoor office, companies can provide a workspace that reduces the chance of community disease transmission.

#4: A Healthy and Mindful Approach to Working from Home

One of the more radical evolutions of thought that we all have had is our opinion on working from home. What was once a derided work alternative has now become an accepted and celebrated way of safely doing one’s job. However, as many of us have become more productive working from home, we have also pushed ourselves hard and burned out at times. This is why mindfulness should be encouraged on a company-wide basis. Leaders should encourage workers to take breaks, move around, and truly give their minds restful periods. Once everyone accepts and implements these mindful practices, they will maximize their time and effort when they are back to work.

#5: A Return to Normalcy… Only Newer and Safer

There’s been no more significant challenge this year than the one of trying to redefine the concept of normalcy. As we’ve learned more about the transmissibility of COVID-19, we have made the necessary changes to adapt. These changes to our professional routines and actions will become stalwart practices in the year to come. As the burden of the pandemic eases, we will engage our spaces and coworkers safely and mindfully.

What changes in your workplace would you like to see in 2021? Let us know! Contact us at [email protected].