The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly compelled professionals to make changes in their day-to-day activities to adapt to the new normal. The popularity of online classes and the rise in the WFH trend are among the top changes. The impact of these changes has been profound, with various other trends starting to emerge.
The wide acceptance of the WFH technique has caused the need for a change in housing design. Homebuyers now seek residences with additional space to accommodate their workspace. For this reason, the builders are trying to cater to the new demands by coming up with suitable floor plans and designs. For example, a family with two working parents would generally require at least two rooms dedicated to each of them for professional purposes.
A healthy workplace ambiance is necessary to be able to concentrate on the task at hand. Disturbances would result in constant distractions, resulting in a reduction in productivity. Moreover, many companies and organizations require their employees to maintain audio-visual connections while working from home. As a result, the need for privacy has grown manifold. Those working from home need to make sure not to fall into an embarrassing situation due to the interference of family members while on a video conference. Keeping all these in mind, the homes need to be built in such a way that the dedicated workspaces would be able to deliver the right environment.
The need for separate spaces has risen not only due to the WFH trend but also as a result of schools conducting online classes. Children now need a separate room where they can attend online classes without any disturbances. Imagine the situation of a family with two working parents and two children requiring four simultaneous sessions for work and online schooling
Right now, many such families are struggling due to the lack of adequate space. For example, if two children share a room and both have online classes at the same time, it is a difficult situation as they would end up disturbing each other’s classes while speaking. In most families, children share a common room rather than each having one for himself/herself. The same scenario has emerged in the case of working parents too. Although the WFH technique has been around for a while, it gained popularity only during the pandemic. Most homes are designed without separate spaces for professional purposes.
The pandemic has also led to other changes in home design. For example, people are now paying special attention to sanitation and safety. These include automated “no-touch” entrances in housing complexes, places to wash near the entrance of homes, sanitation booths, etc. While sanitation has always been important, very few people paid heed to it. Over time, we had forgotten some of the basics such as the need to wash hands regularly. Also, to be careful while touching our nose or mouth with potentially contaminated hands. The absence of these good habits increases the risk of getting infected.
Apart from house design, WFH and online education also require families to invest in the necessary gadgets and other digital systems. For example, a stable Wi-Fi connection is of great importance for video calls and conferences. Computers and headphones have become necessary for children and working parents too. These trends are expected to continue in the long in, even after the pandemic.