Office Space: Rethinking Workspaces in the COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many institutional and commercial organizations to reevaluate key aspects of their operations and facilities, from housekeeping practices and supply chains to asset tracking and technology applications.

The office needs of healthcare employees are no exception to this scrutiny. While ICUs are once again seeing surges of COVID-19 patients, not all spaces inside hospitals are being utilized effectively, according to Forbes.

Roughly one-third of academic medical centers are dedicated to non-clinical hospital workspace. By rethinking administrative space, hospitals have an opportunity to elevate the workplace experience and free space for new and more productive uses.

For example, facility managers need to understand the current use of space. To create a more productive and effective workplace, hospitals first need to better understand the way workers use existing spaces. Space utilization studies, employing smart occupancy sensors and staff preference surveys, can help determine how frequently each space is occupied and why.

This process gives valuable information that can help identify underused and high use spaces and create a data-driven foundation for decision-making.

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