Faced with the pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19 many countries have implemented mandatory quarantine, pushing institutions and businesses to close their doors and set-up remote work for their employees. As the current workplace adapts and takes shape, we have to wonder whether it will affect the Future Workplace. The question surrounding the future of the workplace isn’t new, but for the first time it’s being experimented and experienced globally.

I invited people to explore this question with me spatially, economically, sociologically, philosophically, realistically, etc. through a one-week online workshop, and the resulting projects were very different yet they all revolved around a common understanding of change.

The participants’ backgrounds spanned over many disciplines like interior design, architecture, real estate, mechanical engineering, F&B consulting and PR. And the resulting projects presented included interior spaces, products, a creation of an app, a circular for employees, a proposal to other companies, and data collection. We have found that the solutions to the future of the workplace can be many, but the underlying commonality between them all is clearly a search for happiness moving forward.

The discussions we’ve had over five days included questions that are on everyone’s minds right now. And once these questions are asked, reflected upon, even answered sometimes, there is no going back.
As people are confined to their homes, alone or with their families, for days with no escape, through work and leisure, they will either love the experience which will make them hesitant to go back to the way it was before, or find it unbearable and appreciate what they’ve lost, while most will find themselves somewhere in between. In any case, the future is forever changed and will be shaped by these experiences; the World is forever changed.

From our discussions, I’ve noticed that the idea of happiness was recurrent, whether brought up by Samer Chattahy when bringing forth the behavioral change concept within the workplace, where employees are valued, rightly compensated, and protected by clear laws, or when Alexandra Mokbel decided to design her workplace as a reflection of herself as being the only way to be truly happy and productive, noting that the exercise if performed by many will bring about physical changes in the real work spaces when designed in relativeness to that data. Sarah Siblini conducted a survey to prove the importance of hotel room designs to consultants’ well being who are constantly on the move, and concluded that an app with their preferences linked to hotel booking sites would be a solution towards more productive travelling and better lifestyles. Another interesting project, by Amal Choueiri, tackled the near future in which COVID-19 still poses a threat, people are still confined to their homes, but using the best technological advances for detection, governments are able to create safe spaces for communities to gather, socialize, work, and play.

Even when financial reasons were the hearts behind some ideas, happiness acted as the lungs and made their projects complete.
As Lebanese, we’ve been living an economical crisis since the Revolution began in October 2019 – some might say even longer – and while certain people lost their jobs, others had to lay some off, downgrade their businesses, or close up shop completely. Because of the novel coronavirus, the rest of the world has caught up to us and the world’s economy is now struggling. More layoffs, more downgrades, indicate necessary cuts in cost for many organizations. As such were the initiatives brought forth by Stavros Kissonergis, who proposed a sharing of office space between four different companies, each working a full week from the premises while working remotely the remainder of the month, and by Serge Bou Samra who studied in details the expenses of his small business and decided to let go of his office space completely and rely on remote work four days a week, while meeting once in rented conference rooms in cafes and other institutions available. Both expressed the importance of human interactions as a major component of team spirit and personal happiness. Sara Choueiri also suggested a reduction in office space while safeguarding employee’s privacy by using a new desk system.

All three projects would have great impact on real estate and the limit of further carbon footprint if applied. Additionally, as scientists study the effect of this global lockdown on climate change, Nature was on the mind of participant Stephanie Saad, who studied human’s connection to it through Biophilia and thus proposing to take the workplace outside instead of continuously trying to bring nature in.

There’s a shift in paradigm, and as we all look forward to going back to ‘normal’ life the truth is that we will be heading towards a ‘new normal’.

When faced with the question about the Future of the Workplace, we now firstly think about our Future as humans on this Planet: what is the purpose of our existence? What are we leaving behind? Have we enjoyed living? And even if we go back to our daily routines once the fight is won, this experience we’re living cannot but leave an imprint on our souls. The World is forever changed because we are forever changed.