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Summer 2021 51 A NEW POLL has revealed that almost half of employees (49%) want spaces speci cally designed for socialising and collaboration if they are to return to the o ce. The survey of 1,017 UK adults (in full or part-time work), commissioned by o ce designer MoreySmith, asked the public about their new expectations of work, following 14 months of Covid restrictions and working from home. Fieldwork was undertaken by Yonder (formerly Populus) between in April, surveying 2,079 British adults. The survey also found that two thirds of employees (67%) want Covid havens (o ces that guarantee hygiene so there’s no need for Covid restrictions once on site) when returning to the o ce. The poll results have been released as vaccine rollouts ease the stipulations on people to work from home. Linda Morey-Burrows, Founder and Principal Director of MoreySmith, said: “Many companies want employees to return to the o ce to reinstate a sense of identity and common single purpose. “We are nding that whilst many young people are desperate to return to the workplace for a better, more social working environment, employees with a long commute and young children are often more reluctant to stop working from home. “As this polling demonstrates, it’s essential that workspaces are designed to encourage and stimulate this return to work. O ces must be created to cater for the new world with exibility, comfort, outside spaces and sociability front of mind for designers.” Wellbeing has become another key consideration for employees,with the MoreySmith poll nding that almost half (43%) of employees want access tomental health facilities on site.A further 44%of people said that access to outdoor terraces and gardens is an important consideration in their decision to return to the physical workspace. The trends of increased bike and pet ownership were re ected in the results as more than one in three employees (35%) said they wanted secure bike facilities and showers on-site, while one in ve (19%) pet owners said that bringing their animal to work would be an important factor in deciding whether to stop working from home. Most major employers are trying to gure out how to bring sta back to the o ce as vaccine rollouts ease the stipulations on people to work from home. The poll has expanded on research conducted by MoreySmith in The New Normal report, that examined employee attitudes to the new ways of working at the start of lockdown in March 2020. The latest poll also found that one in ve (20%) employees are looking for excellent on-site entertainment facilities, while two thirds (66%) said exible start times will be an important factor in their decision to return to the o ce. The survey also found that one in four employees (25%) would move to a four-day working week even if their wages were reduced by one fth. << Post-covid social workspace expectations revealed. ENTICEMENTS NEEDED FOR OFFICE RETURN