This country is already returning to the office: What that means for us

After months of Covid-related restrictions that sent hundreds of thousands of people to their home offices, some countries are beginning to usher their workers back to the traditional office. 

That is especially true in Singapore, reports Bloomberg. With low infection rates, the nation’s financial sector is preparing to return to the trading floor and swanky offices with hopes that the worst of Coronavirus is finished. 

But, returning to a traditional office does not mean it’ll be business as usual. 

A cautious return to the office

Singapore plans to use more touchless technology to avoid unnecessary contact with one another, according to a study commissioned by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In addition, lenders may use technology like motion detectors and face-mask detection to help avoid contamination and the spread of Covid. 

It’s a cautious approach to getting back to normal, and industries within the United States would be wise to take a similar path.

“Wall Street has also been unveiling plans to bring more bankers back in the coming months, while employees in Shanghai have been back in the office for months after the Chinese city was the world’s first major center to reopen last year after taming the virus,” wrote Fortune. 

Precautions include adjusting office density to avoid too many people working in the same area at the same time. And, many companies are allowing their staff to work a certain percentage of their time from a traditional office in addition to working from home. 

For instance, Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd will let almost 70% of its workforce work remotely for two days a week once Singapore’s Covid restrictions are officially lifted.  

This new approach allows companies around the world to reshape office spaces and working hubs by reducing commercial real estate. Many businesses are cutting commercial footprints to make way for a hybrid work structure that includes both on-site and remote working. 

“Banks in Singapore have adapted their operations quickly over the past year to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak,” Samuel Tsien, CEO of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, said. “However, the longer-term impact of the pandemic on social behaviors and workplace norms is not yet fully known and understood.”

In the United States, the Covid vaccine might spur on a return to a traditional office, though not all employees want to do that, at least right away. 

“As the vaccine becomes more available, you will see a lot of workers returning to the office,” Columbia Business School assistant professor of economics Laura Boudreau told CNBC. But, she admitted that many employees may not want to rush this process. 

Even with vaccinations, many challenges remain a primary concern for people as companies decide when to reopen offices. In fact, many jobs were saved due to their ability to be worked remotely. The vast majority of jobs that were lost due to the pandemic were positions that could not be teleworked, according to Pew Research. 

“While many workers could no longer wait tables or give haircuts, others – especially those with college degrees – could go online and continue to teach, deliver sermons or trade stocks.”

Naturally, people who work in these remote positions wonder how a return to traditional office work will impact their jobs. 

Managers and human resources departments need to be flexible and understanding as businesses bring their staff back into the office, HR expert Rhiannon Staples told CNBC. She added that this is especially true if the last 10 to 12-months of working from home proved successful for the organization 

Several high-profile U.S. companies have offered permanent work-from-home opportunities to their employees. Last week, Ford offered 30,000 employees the option to work from home. Last year, Twitter announced that its employees can work from home indefinitely. 

This adds to the growing list of companies with work from home options, like Amazon, Capital One, Facebook, Dropbox, Microsoft, Salesforce, Shopify and so many others.