(Newswire.net — June 18, 2020) — 

American Workers Start Slowly Returning to Offices – What to Expect?

It’s no surprise that COVID-19 and the related pandemic disrupted traditional operations around the world. While there are still a lot of new cases each day, some companies in the USA think about returning to pre-crisis workflows. Governmental and private organizations ask and even force employees to come back to offices. As for now, they start small, but the trend is clear: companies want their workforce back to time-proven approaches.

Overall, why is this happening now? The thing is that remote working isn’t suitable for various teams. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other banks need their employees to keep productivity high. Gov entities like the IRS rely on high security in offices that can’ t be guaranteed while working from home. Big tech brands such as Apple also have standard flows based on in-person interactions. 

Let’s analyze this situation in more detail.

Businesses Reopen Office Spaces

The difference between office and home workflows is huge. Although there are some basic things that don’t change, such as SRS writing rules, many processes differ a lot. Following the example, there are many obstacles to efficient remote document preparation and exchange. It’s challenging to adapt standard office processes to remote collaborative environments.

That’s why companies are ready to risk and return at least part of employees. For example, IRS workers report an extremely high workload related to tax payments and relief checks. People have to work in offices because they can access core documents and software systems there. There are a lot of documents to process nowadays.

Other firms that move to offices life include large banks, tech giants, and even sports companies. The Texas Rangers MLB team has already notified employees about returning to office-based work. Interestingly, players aren’t affected. The league is closed now, and officials aren’t sure if it resumes in 2020. 

How Companies Plan to Protect Employees

Considering this news, we all want to know how businesses care about their workers. The very decision to cancel remote work processes is ambiguous as the pandemic is far from its end in the USA. Still, companies try to protect workers. Here are the most popular measures:

• Boxed meals in cafeterias. 
• Contactless entry and door opening.
• Different desks for day/night shifts.
• Elevator queues. 
• Mandatory wearing masks. 
• One-way office routes.
• Regular cleaning. 
• Social distancing.
• Temperature checks. 

Following these measures, companies don’t want to return all workers at once, surely. Apple is starting with the “very limited” number. Morgan Stanley is returning 5% of workers in July and August. Goldman Sachs is planning to go gradually, starting from 20% and moving to 50% this fall. Overall, American businesses try to be cautious, but it’s clear that they want to return to high productivity levels as soon as possible. 

Remote Collaboration Lasts

While people come back to real-world operations, remote patterns remain highly popular. Many teams decided to keep all departments remote. Even large brands like Capital One and TD aren’t going to consider offices until September, at least. It’s true for many sports teams, as well. The pandemic forces us to be extremely careful, so remote cooperation is a new norm.