A Look Inside WeWork's Post-Pandemic World
Shared office space provider WeWork is unveiling some of its plans for a "post-COVID-19" world, including floor stickers marking spots for social-distancing guidelines, touchless hand-sanitizing stations and new house cleanup rules.
The designs provide one of the first glimpses into what office space may look like when government-imposed stay-at-home orders are lifted and workers begin to return to offices. They come after CEO Sandeep Mathrani promised in an email sent out on April 6 that WeWork would be updating its floor space to deal with the new workplace reality that the coworking giant will have to face to maintain its relevance to its 600,000 members.
"Our teams have been diligently reviewing member feedback and working with industry experts across health and safety, cleaning, construction, and design to install various enhancements throughout our workspaces," said Mathrani in an email Thursday obtained by CoStar News from a commercial real estate broker.
When workers return to offices, public health officials are largely urging the continuation of social distancing and other precautions that would require large-scale rethinking and redesigning of spaces by landlords and business owners.
WeWork's designs reveal how the firm plans to modify its work spaces, which largely reflect the popular employee-dense open-space concept that is discouraged by efforts to stem the spread of the virus. The move is designed to meet those requirements by creating physical distance among members, increasing cleanliness and enforcing its new health protocols.
WeWork, which has long promoted its workplaces as a place where connections and interaction among clients are part of the value of membership, announced this week it was bringing in a new chief marketing officer. Roger Solé, who previously held the same position at Sprint, said the coworking company was in a unique position to redefine how people work again.
CoStar News reported this month the company had been contacting tenants across its portfolio offering a rent holiday in May and June.
In a two-minute video that accompanied Thursday's email from the CEO and was posted to YouTube, the company talked about how "community is at the core" of its spaces.
"While physical distancing will be part of our new normal, collaboration and human connection remain more important than ever," the company said, promising frequent deep cleaning and HVAC systems that will bring in outside air.
WeWork plans to keep its lounges, but they will be modified with seat-to-seat distancing, which will reduce occupancy.
"House rules for health signage will help guide members and guests as to how to safely seat themselves," according to a 16-page document attached to the CEO's email.
Work nooks are set to change. Once designed for collaboration, they will be limited to one person per booth.
Its pantries will have what the coworking company calls one-touch solutions that include disposable cups and silverware, touch-free soap dispensers and wipe dispensers.
"Seating will be modified to reduce capacity and heavy foot traffic," according to the document.
Those phone booths? They will be cleaned throughout the day, and wipe dispensers will be available to clean after every use and will include signs to explain the so-called house rules.
In restrooms, there will be reminders of 20-second hand-washing conventions to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"As we navigate the evolving realities of COVID-19, we are looking ahead to what the future of the workplace holds for all of us," according to the document from WeWork.
