Designing Your Office for Hybrid Remote Work

You can’t deny the fact that COVID-19 has radically changed the way we think about workplaces. The prospect of part- or full-time remote work has played a large part in this development, with many business owners discovering that their employees work just as efficiently from the comfort of their homes as they did in a physical office building. Now, business owners find themselves re-thinking office design in an attempt to create spaces which foster connectivity between in-person and remote workers.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are some things you can consider as you design your hybrid remote office:

Making Workstations Flexible

Assigned seating may work in primary school classrooms or fancy theaters, but this model starts to fall apart in a hybrid office. While employees who work in the office full-time need a workstation, it doesn’t make much sense to maintain designated desks for those who may or may not show up on any given day. That’s why many business owners with hybrid remote workers design their offices for flexibility.

When arranging your building, make sure to incorporate several types of workspaces—including traditional workstations and several different-sized meeting rooms. Instead of assigning these workspaces out, allow your employees to “book” their spaces for the day before coming into the office. This gives both in-office and hybrid remote team members the ability to make use of your physical workplace without sacrificing efficiency or causing undue headaches.

Make the Most of Meeting Rooms

Keeping your in-person team members engaged with their remote counterparts requires providing them with plenty of sound-proof spaces where they can discuss ideas and plan out projects. So, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of good meeting room design in your office. The ideal meeting room should be comfortable, not cramped, with spacious seating and a plenty of surface space for arranging laptops and other materials.

As you create your meeting spaces, be sure to account for technology. All of your meeting rooms should contain webcams, speakers, large screens, and equipment for connecting laptops, allowing remote employees to be present and engaged even though they’re not in the physical space. Finding the right furniture to store this technology is also a must—your employees have better things to do than wait for their peers to sort through a tangle of cables while trying to connect their laptop.

Want to know more ways you can furnish your office to keep your hybrid remote employees productive? Let Ajax Business Interiors help! Contact us today to learn more about our furniture solutions and office design services.