According to commercial real estate leader CBRE, “office market activity strengthened in the second half of 2021,” and Cushman & Wakefield reports the vacancy rate for office space in Canada declined through 2021. Many organizations are also considering ways to adapt their physical footprints to accommodate hybrid policies.

While most of today’s offices are not as crowded as they once were, the fact is that many people are either required to or want to work in offices. Thus, an increased level of care needs to go into designing and maintaining these spaces.

This begs the question: how are on-site offices adapting to employees’ new expectations and the evolving best practices that promote health and safety?

For those responsible for overseeing these spaces, like facility managers and building service contractors (BSCs), it’s important that they understand the trends that are shaping the maintenance of commercial offices.

Designing a better office space

The pandemic has caused a shift in the demand for certain commercial office features and priorities. These include:

• Cleaning for health – Just like good IAQ, cleanliness is another key factor in upholding health and safety among the workforce. In addition to removing harmful pathogens from surfaces, cleaning gives employees greater peace of mind. Since the pandemic began, there has been a shift from cleaning for appearance to cleaning for health. On average, Americans spend around $5 billion per year on the common cold, which amounts to $3 billion on doctor’s visits and $2 billion on treatments. Additionally, around 50 million days of work are lost per year due to this illness.
• Experiences and amenities – With many employees working from the convenience of their homes, companies are tasked with putting more thought into the design of commercial offices in an effort to make these spaces more inviting and experience-driven. Both large and boutique buildings have seen the adoption of food halls, tenant-only fitness centres, wellness rooms, lounges, and connected retail stores. The move to a more “hotel-centric” office entails reworking their blueprint to include more shared spaces that encourage collaboration among coworkers and customers.
• Indoor air quality – Because COVID-19 spreads through the air via respiratory droplets from infected people, indoor air quality (IAQ) is an increasing concern. Good IAQ can also better support those who have health conditions like asthma and allergies. Many offices have had to reassess their heating, ventilation, and cooling systems and, in some cases, implement indoor air safeguards to support IAQ. Some high-efficiency particulate air filters can remove 99.97 per cent of airborne bacteria, dust, mould, and pollen particles as small as 0.3 microns. Filters such as these provide the best defence against those dangerous microns, which are the most penetrating type of particle.
• Sustainability – A report from the Gensler Impact by Design 2020 states that 49 per cent of U.S. energy consumption is associated with the built environment. Therefore, corporations have a responsibility to reduce the impact their commercial offices have on the planet. Doing so can positively affect how prospective and current employees feel about an organization. According to a 2021 survey from IBM, 71 per cent of employees and job seekers say that sustainable companies are more attractive employers. To showcase commitment to the environment and support recruitment and retention, some companies have incorporated a biophilic design that brings green spaces and wildlife into offices.

Addressing lingering concerns regarding cleanliness

Upholding cleanliness helps protect occupants, visitors, corporate reputation, and even the design elements in an office. BSCs and in-house cleaning teams alike should take the following strategies into consideration given that the public still has concerns around cleanliness:

• Set cleanliness benchmarks – To understand the current state of facility cleanliness, consider carpet cleanliness measurement tools and indoor air quality measurements that deliver key metrics on soil levels and air pollution. Take a close look at cleaning schedules to assess frequencies. Then, determine what benchmarks you should be working toward and regularly conduct tests, visual inspections, and check-ins with cleaning staff to track your progress.
• Incorporate sustainability into cleaning – To give employees reassurance that buildings are safe, cleaning is happening more regularly and while workers are present. It is important to be mindful of the ingredients in the cleaning chemicals that custodial teams are using, as some can irritate the eyes and skin and negatively impact IAQ. Look for products that have been certified by trustworthy organizations like Green Seal, so you know they have been properly vetted against performance, health, and sustainability criteria.
• Consider the impact of new layouts – Renovated workspaces may see changes such as fewer traditional desks, cubicles, and single-person offices in exchange for more shared collaboration spaces. Due to this, cleaning teams may have to adjust their routines, as areas frequented with multiple people will now require regular cleaning and disinfecting. In particular, carpeted areas with comfortable chairs and couches will need consistent upkeep for stains and spots. If windows and doors are being left open to aid ventilation, cleaning teams may need to perform more frequent floorcare and surface cleaning in case things like leaves, dust, soils, and moisture enter the facility.
• Minimize disruption – Understandably, it can be difficult to clean with little disruption while workers are present. Bear in mind that employees want to see cleaning take place. Cleaning teams should opt for equipment that operates at lower decibels and allows quick but thorough cleaning. For example, low-moisture encapsulation carpet cleaning machines are quiet, easy to operate, and enable carpet to dry in under 30 minutes, rather than hours. Quieter vacuums also support soil removal and IAQ maintenance during the workday.

Meeting employee expectations and demands

According to the 2021 Work Trend Index from Microsoft, which gathered insights from more than 30,000 people in 31 countries, more than 65 per cent of respondents are craving more in-person time with their work teams and 66 per cent of business decision-makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments.

Just as architects and interior designers are having to rethink the layout of commercial offices, facility managers and BSCs are reassessing how they maintain safe office environments. Keeping the above trends and best practices in mind will help facility managers and outsourced providers create welcoming and clean office environments.

Joseph Bshero is the director of technical services with R.E. Whittaker Co., a family-owned carpet care system manufacturer celebrating 60 years in business in 2021 and the pioneers of the first commercial carpet encapsulation system.