De Vorm Introduces Soft Distancing for Added Safety and Flexibility in Offices
Olesia Drach, Marketing & Communications - DeVorm
“As businesses look for the ways to navigate the new reality, De Vorm outlines a framework for future-proof offices.”
The pandemic made us rethink the usual ways of working. It accelerated existing trends in remote employment and digitalisation, showing that a workplace can exist outside an office building. On another side, it elevated the importance of the physical dimension of work. Businesses have realised how challenging it might be to facilitate collaboration and creativity via the screen.
Now, more than ever, people want to come together again with a physical workplace playing an essential role in their return to normal. Given that creative and social aspects of working process cannot be completely replaced by virtual communication, offices will remain a connection point bringing people together. At the same time, there is an increasing focus on the quality of physical interactions happening in social environments. Health and personal safety are now at the forefront of office design, calling for the measures to best enable them.
Private workstations with AK 1 Workplace Dividers
We realise that the post-pandemic workplace will be different from the one we left behind. The new reality calls for increased safety and distancing protocols to make people feel safe when they return. But, regardless of all the transformations, we firmly believe that coming back to the office, school or restaurant has to remain a pleasant experience. Nobody will feel that way in an empty, almost sterile place full of plexiglass, warnings and imposed separations.
With Soft Distancing, De Vorm offers an alternative approach to reconfiguring social environments, proving that distancing can be both safe and pleasant. Realising that a new reality calls for new tools, we developed a set of flexible office solutions to facilitate the necessary changes.
Soft Distancing goes further than immediate safety protocols. This approach calls for truly future-proof solutions, adaptable to the evolving needs of users. To bring Soft Distancing to the workplace, De Vorm introduced the AK series. Not only do these products offer a ready-to-use solution for social distancing, but they also facilitate flexibility and provide long-term design value.
Soft Distancing in the office
Upon return, office plans will require more structure and clear zone division. Fostering random encounters by making people bump into each other during the working day will not work anymore. However, it doesn’t mean that we have to go back to the cubicles and stay isolated from each other. Social interactions and togetherness were the very aspects that people missed about their workplace during the pandemic, so it is essential to maintain that sense of belonging in the office.
It’s possible to add structure and preserve the open character of space with flexible room partitions. These ready-to-use solutions offer a quick fix for physical distancing. It’s no longer needed to bring up the walls between workstations, common areas and meeting spots. Applying room dividers in high-traffic areas allow employees to easily follow the right path, but also reduce the chance of bumping into each other.
The same counts for the workstations, where people spend most of their time during the working day. Maintaining distance at shared desks becomes easier with workplace dividers. Not only do they offer some privacy for focused work, but also create a gentle physical shield.
Workplace dividers allow people to share desks like they used to, maintaining the feeling of togetherness and enabling contact. Such partitions can also provide additional benefits, such as sound-dampening effect.
Striking the right balance between privacy and collaboration will be one of the key challenges facing the post-pandemic workplace. Upon return, people will have a greater appreciation for their work relationships. The purpose of the office will shift even more towards a social hotspot. Therefore, the need for shared spaces and amenities to accommodate collaboration and connecting remains very much relevant.
Canteens, breakout areas and meeting rooms are likely to remain essential parts of modern offices. However, they will take a different shape where adaptability will become key to supporting creativity and innovation. Flexible layout and multi-purpose solutions can be of great value for common areas in offices. Tailoring the space to the needs of users, they let people to choose where and how they want to work.
With desk partitions, any large table in the meeting room or canteen can serve as an on-demand workstation. It’s also a great solution if you don’t have an assigned desk for everyone. Large shared tables desks can still be safely used by multiple people.
Looking beyond the pandemic, Soft Distancing will bring a positive long-term change to the workplace. Unlike temporary solutions, it will support office redesign without compromising user experience. This approach allows businesses to respond to the current needs and enables future changes, adding flexibility to their social environments.
