A Future Design Vision for Administrative Workspaces Post COVID-19 Pandemic (A Case Study in Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 worldwide has caused significant changes in all fields. Many businesses had to stop operating with their business-as-usual norms and transferred their employees to an online mode. The design of the workplace had to evolve to accommodate those changes. Many firms and offices have reverted to unusual measures to operate and to also maintain the required safety for their employees. This research investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the office space design, with a special focus on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The research engages stakeholders through surveys & analysis to reflect the different approaches and measures taken by firms and office-owners in order to guarantee a safe return to their employees to the office and in order to generate the required lessons to be learned. The paper adopts both a qualitative and quantitative methodology. The quantitative part of the study provides primary data related to the workspace environment, assessing its post status and highlighting the modifications made in order to comply with the new norms and requirements. On the other hand, the quantitative part of the study offers an in-depth study involving tailored interviews with business owners, in order to reflect on different adopted approaches and to create a better understanding of the post COVID emerging requirements. From the data analysis, the paper concludes with lessons learned that would improve the office workspace design, and to provide employees with a better and healthier working environment that can sustain any similar arousing situation and make the office design more efficient in the long run.