The Covid diaries: Day 43 - Office Space

A daily fly-on-the-wall blog about running a legal business during the Covid-19 crisis.

By Dónall Breen - 18 May

So, what did you do with all your new freedom over the weekend - for those living in England at least?

I took full advantage and left the house twice on both days. I felt like a real rebel. I should have worn a leather jacket and had an unlit cigarette hanging from my mouth.

In fact I put on my lycra and went for a cycle. I looked absolutely uncool, according to my other half.

The lifting of restrictions also meant that this week more and more people will be going back to work, in theory at least. It still isn't clear how many offices have actually reopened but the roads look busier from my window.

The government has published some guidance on what precautions employers must take, but the bottom line is that most office spaces are about to profoundly change. Gone is hot-desking, apparently. There may be some sections of the employee population cheering that.

Ball pits will also have to go, which is gutting for all those tech companies who will now have to replace their onsite playgrounds with something boring like a fish tank.

Even in our own office, the open plan, hot-desking arrangement we had going has now been derailed by the 'Rona. We are starting to brain storm what the office might look like when it reopens. Buzzwords like 'collaboration spaces' and 'drop in areas' are floating about instead of just lines of desks. I feel like I am in Silicon Valley sometimes.

But from speaking to many of our clients, they are are hunkering down for the long haul at home. Instead of thinking about what their office cubicle will look like, we are hearing that employees are now looking at their homes and wondering if some permanent changes are needed.

If you are looking for a new career right now, I imagine interior design is on the up.

If you would like to read our Covid diaries starting from day 1 please click here.