The global pandemic may have changed forever the way in which we work, bringing in its wake a measurable decline on the commercial office space sector. This in turn has impacted all those who supply it, including flooring contractors. As the working from home (WFH) culture took hold, businesses reassessed their need for office space with a resulting pause on investment that affected us all. Post pandemic we are starting to see a dawning realisation that WFH isn’t the panacea it once appeared to be: strong personal relationships are best forged through face-to-face contact; collaboration between teams is more difficult to achieve among people working remotely – as is team morale. Working in isolation can also lead to mental health issues. So, while WFH has its place for some businesses and can offer benefits to employees, the flexibility to accommodate home-based working has to be balanced against building strong and professional relationships with both customers and colleagues.

Going forward we are likely to see a hybrid style of working which combines the benefits and practicalities of both: the freedom (and recruitment attraction) of working from home; and the dynamism and interaction of personal contact which comes through working in an office environment. So, we believe, there’ll always be a requirement for office space – the market is simply undergoing a readjustment. Louise Walters, commercial director