The return to the office: What your boss really thinks

As seen in The Telegraph

By Jitesh Patel, CEO

Our interior design company invested a lot of time and money into making the office Covid compliant. All of our 120 employees are temperature-tested on entry through a facial recognition system, and we have introduced touch-free sensor technology in communal areas.

But, despite our best efforts, social distancing measures impact the way our teams collaborate with each other. A lot of our work is based around large drawings, but we aren’t able to lay them out in meeting rooms, due to Perspex dividing screens. Like many businesses, we’re struggling to decide which staff to bring back to the office first, as none of our teams work in isolation from each other.

I know that young people who live in cramped flat shares are struggling with working from home more than our older staff. Bringing them back is a priority, but we also have to look at the needs of the business, and prioritise bringing back teams who need to work together on important projects.

A staggered return has the potential to create a divided workforce, and we are going to have to work hard to overcome these challenges.

Read the full article here.