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The end of alert level 3 also means the end of seven weeks of working from home for many people.
Photo: Unsplash / Kate Sade
But workplaces will still be necessary to maintain physical distance from staff, and some workers simply don’t feel comfortable with the idea of returning to the office.
Office shared space companies are working to make workspaces work safely and hotels allow daily rentals for people who want a change of scene, but are not yet interested in embracing social interaction.
Working from home has presented unique challenges for everyone, whether you’re a teacher trying to teach a class full of kids on video, while your own kids are running in the background; Or you are a mayor trying to mediate in a live broadcast meeting with more than 10 councilors.
So the news that the offices will reopen has relieved many: a change of scene and new people to interact with.
For co-director of graphic design firm Scratch Design, Kendal Morgan-Marshal, working from home was difficult for his team of five.
“Creative collaboration between us is normally a fairly natural and organic process,” he said.
“When we come together for our creative brainstorms, they are really positive and exciting times.”
“Having to do that remotely has definitely been much more structured and organized, so you just lose that kind of natural, organic process.”
His office is a shared work space, The Settlement, based in Petone in Lower Hutt.
Morgan-Marshal said, from aesthetics to company, that it’s a convenient space on the floor that they simply haven’t experienced while at home.
“We have created a house that looks good and feels good to be there,” he said.
“That is exactly what we are, and The Settlement is very much like that, it is a beautiful space to work.”
“We know that people have had their challenges, one of our team has been working in his room while he has three young children running down the stairs that his wife is taking care of.”
With plans to return on Monday, he said the entire team was excited to return.
“I think we hope to get back together again. We just lost that natural energy that comes from that.”
A crucial aspect for all these people who can return is to make sure the space is ready for level 2.
Meredith Walshe is a co-founder of The Settlement, where approximately 130 people used the spaces in Petone or Porirua before the closing.
While level 2 means a return to work, she said it did not mean a return to normal.
“We are implementing a new digital login on iPad with contact tracking, detection,” he said, “[and] We are not taking any external meeting reservations at this time.
“[We’re] taking it very seriously, and we’ve rearranged the entire space, circled my tape measure and measured, and also how you walk through space. “
But there are also those who will feel uncomfortable about returning, which is the gap that the Rydges and QT hotel chains hope to fill.
They are offering a “Work from Hotel” offer, where you pay for a day in a hotel room, with a private bathroom and free hot drinks.
Sales director Tracy Martin said she offered customers the same change of scenery, but kept her distance.
“It really is aimed at people who need a quiet space, or perhaps their office does not have adequate social distancing,” he said.
“Therefore, the whole concept is based on the individual who still needs to work and be productive, but for whatever reason, his family environment is not suitable.”
Level 2 will be seen by many as the right time to return to the office, but as pandemic measures continue, it will not be the office as we know it.
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