This month's articles will look at shrinking office space, Omicron surface testing, employee experience by Nike, cleaning trends that will stick and the power of natural light in the office.

We hope this content is helpful as you build out and execute your return to the office plans with employees.

The Shrinking Office Space May Not Be a Permanent Trend - Paul Bubny (ConnectCRE)

With the pandemic forcing employees to work from home for extended periods, we've had a lot of conversation on how this will impact corporate real estate footprints in the future. This article shares some new data on how the shrinking of corporate real estate footprints may have been exaggerated.

Some insights include:

• 45% of respondents said they were using 0-10% less space less space than in March 2020
• EY notes that the EY Work Reimagined Survey 2021 shows that almost four of five (79%) employers plan to make moderate to extensive changes to allow for more hybrid working.

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Study: Omicron Lasts Longer On Surfaces Than Previous COVID-19 Variants - Cleanlink

As we return to the office, it will be important to have your cleaning, air quality and sanitization procedures in place to ensure employee health & safety. This article shares important information on how COVID strains are evolving and how our cleaning procedures should evolve to ensure better health outcomes in our buildings and offices.

Key takeaway from the research:

• Average Survival Times On Plastic By Total Hours: Original: 56, Alpha: 191.3, Beta: 156.6, Gamma: 59.3, Delta: 114, Omicron: 193.5

SEE THE RESEARCH

Nike CHRO: How investing in tech helps us deliver world-class HR - Phil Albinus (HR Executive)

Transformation is the constant with the pandemic when it comes to how we manage and engage our employees. With more hybrid strategies moving forward, this interview with CHRO Monique “Mo” Matheson from Nike shares some interesting insights on how they are engaging and managing the employee experience during these unpredictable times.

Here are some highlights:

• Matheson says her mission at Nike is to focus on the entire Nike team, whether she’s rolling out large and small HR technology solutions, driving digital business, creating enticing career paths or strategizing how to bring employees back to offices. This means investing in leading-edge HR technology and the employees who will ultimately use it.
• Nike’s management team works to include employees in their decision-making around this topic, Matheson says. “It really has to be in partnership with your employees and understanding what they’re needing [in terms of] flexibility, what commitment looks like and how you support them,” she says.

READ THE INTERVIEW

COVID-19 cleaning lessons: In with the new, stick with the old - Robert Kravitz (FC&M)

We receive more questions about cleaning protocols and what organizations are doing to stay up to date than anything else currently. There are a lot of questions about what cleaning protocols will stick and which ones will go away post pandemic. This article does a good job of outlining what you should think about.

Here's a few excerpts:

• Disinfectant product labels provide a wealth of crucial information, such as how long the disinfectant should dwell on the surface before removing, what pathogens the disinfectant is engineered to kill or eliminate, and whether the disinfectant must be rinsed off surfaces after use.
• Suggest cleaning frequencies. Some surfaces may need to be cleaned and disinfected more often than others, or at different times.
• ATP monitors should be used regularly to test surfaces before and after cleaning as they are a proven scientific system and we must assess cleaning’s effectiveness. The results can be used to provide better training of cleaning workers, evaluate products and procedures used, as well as the tools and equipment used for cleaning.

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The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light - Jeanne C. Meister (Harvard Business Review)

As we re-invent our office spaces, design will continue to be integral. From health & safety to creating inviting spaces to more collaborative spaces, there's a good amount of things we can do to make our office a place employees want to come to at least part of the time. This article shares data from employees on the largest impacts on well-being by the office environment.

A few tidbits of interest include:

• In “The Employee Experience” study, we found that 73% of employees surveyed agree that the longer they use their technology devices, the more they desire a visual break such as taking a walk or looking through unobstructed windows to an outside view.
• In fact, this research revealed that workers in daylight office environments reported a 51% drop in the incidence of eyestrain, a 63% drop in the incidence of headaches and a 56% reduction in drowsiness.

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