“The point is only to keep moving forward boldly” – this is how a Polish poet, Leopold Staff, wrote about overcoming adversities. Do these words have anything in common with the great comeback to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic? You can find it out in the latest episode of Make Your Space Again, where Karolina Manikowska, Workspace Consulting and Research Manager, and a psychologist, Jacek Walkiewicz, share their thoughts with us.
In the second episode of Make Your Space Again – a cycle of interviews organised by Nowy Styl to help arrange office space and public spaces anew – Olimpia Ajakaiye is talking to Karolina Manikowska and Jacek Walkiewicz about challenges related to the employees coming back to the office after a few weeks of isolation at home.
- We will always need offices, because we will always appreciate direct, face-to-face human interaction – say both of our guests in this episode. They realise, however, that the past few months have instilled a lot of fear into our minds and this is an obstacle that needs to be overcome. In order to help companies rearrange office work from scratch, Nowy Styl has prepared a report titled “Welcome Back To The Office.” - The publication is a sort of a guidebook including a set of tips and best practices presented with the consideration of human behaviour as well as architectural and practical aspects – explains Karolina Manikowska.
- It’s good that we are afraid. Fear makes us cautious. However, in this situation it is the virus we should be afraid of, not other people; that’s why today we have to be cherish interpersonal relations and smile as much as we can – adds Jacek Walkiewicz.
What else do we have to bear in mind while preparing for the great comeback to the office? What new responsibilities will managers and employees be faced with? And how to transform a difficult situation into a positive change? To find out, watch the whole interview with our guests!