Thoughts on the post-pandemic office | WSP Skip to content
  • Who We Are

    We are the sum of our collective passion, vision and expertise.

    Discover our people, purpose and stories that have helped shape the organization we are today and are inspiring the one we will become.

    Who We Are
    • What We Stand For
    • Our Story
    • Corporate Responsibility
    • Regional Leadership
    Corporate Responsibility
    • Communities
    • Corporate Governance
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Ethics and Integrity
    • Health and Safety
    • Sustainability
    Featured Content

    Future Ready

    With Future Ready we see the future more clearly and challenge our teams across the world to advise…

  • What We Do

    We shape the communities of tomorrow and help society thrive.

    With an intimate sense of local realities, we look at complex problems from different angles and deliver solutions that break paradigms.


    View All

    • Sectors
    • Services
    • Projects
    What We Do
    • Property and Buildings
    • Transport and Infrastructure
    • Project Management Services
    • Advisory Services
    Featured Content

    Rapid Responses to the Impacts of COVID-19

    Helping clients globally to prepare, respond and recover

  • Insights

    Our global experts offer compelling insights that provide new perspectives.

    Read inspiring articles that challenge the status quo by reframing current issues, sparking fresh conversations and finding new solutions.

    View all
    Insights
    • Climate
    • Mobility
    • Places
    • Resources
    • Society
    • Technology
    Featured Content

    Digital Twins Contribute to Infrastructure…

    Driving optimal outcomes for projects and communities

  • Careers

    Help us shape the future

    Join a collaborative team of experts that thrives on complex challenges and unconventional thinking.

    See more
    Careers
    • Join Us
    • Early Career
    • Experienced Professionals
    • Why Choose WSP
    Featured Content

    WSP is hiring in power

    Care to join us in doing purposeful, sustainable work that helps shape communities and the future?…

  • Who We Are
    • What We Stand For
    • Our Story
    • Corporate Responsibility
      • Who We Are
      • Accountable for Tomorrow
        • Communities
        • Corporate Governance
        • Diversity and Inclusion
        • Ethics and Integrity
        • Health and Safety
        • Sustainability
    • Regional Leadership
  • What We Do
    • Property and Buildings
    • Transport and Infrastructure
    • Project Management Services
    • Advisory Services
  • Insights
    • Climate
    • Mobility
    • Places
    • Resources
    • Society
    • Technology
  • Careers
    • Join Us
    • Early Career
    • Experienced Professionals
    • Why Choose WSP
Back

We are locally dedicated with international scale.

United Arab Emirates - English

International

  • Global
    English - Français

Americas

  • Canada
    English - Français
  • Chile
    Español
  • Colombia
    Español
  • Mexico
    Español
  • Panama
    Español
  • Peru
    Español
  • United States
    English

Africa

  • South Africa
    English

Asia

  • China
    中文(简体) - English
  • Hong Kong
    English
  • India
    English
  • Malaysia
    English
  • Philippines
    English
  • Singapore
    English
  • South Korea
    한국어(대한민국) - English
  • Thailand
    English

Europe

  • Denmark
    Dansk
  • Finland
    Suomi
  • France
    Français
  • Germany
    Deutsch
  • Greenland
    Kalaallisut - English
  • Netherlands
    Nederlands
  • Norway
    Norsk
  • Poland
    Polski - English
  • Romania
    English
  • Spain
    Español
  • Sweden
    Svenska - English
  • Switzerland
    Deutsch - English
  • United Kingdom
    English

Middle East

  • Kuwait
    English
  • Oman
    English
  • Qatar
    English
  • Saudi Arabia
    English
  • United Arab Emirates
    English

Oceania

  • Australia
    English
  • New Zealand
    English
Worldwide Offices
    • Investors

      Discover our diverse business, financial results and strategic ambitions.

      We are committed to delivering sustainable value to our shareholders and exceptional professional services to our clients.

      Read more
      Investors
      • Corporate Governance
      • Press Releases
      • Reports & Filings
      • Stock Information
      • Shareholder Information
      • Presentations and Events
      Corporate Governance
      • Audit Committee
      • Board of Directors
      • Business Conduct Hotline
      • Constating Documents
      • Governance Documents
      • Governance Ethics and Compensation Committee
      • Mandates
      Reports & Filings
      • AIF
      • Annual
      • Information Circular
      • Quarterly
      • SEDAR Filings
      • Sustainability
      Stock Information
      • Analyst Coverage
      Shareholder Information
      • Acquisitions
      • Dividends
      • Drip
      • FAQ
      Featured Content
      Thn-Web-Q42020-Results

      WSP's Q4 and 2020 Results

      We released our 2020 fourth quarter and fiscal results on February 24, 2021 after market close.

    • Investors
      • Corporate Governance
        • Investors
        • Corporate Governance
          • Audit Committee
          • Board of Directors
          • Business Conduct Hotline
          • Constating Documents
          • Governance Documents
          • Governance Ethics and Compensation Committee
          • Mandates
      • Press Releases
      • Reports & Filings
        • Investors
        • REPORTS & FILINGS
          • AIF
          • Annual
          • Information Circular
          • Quarterly
          • SEDAR Filings
          • Sustainability
      • Stock Information
        • Investors
        • Stock Information
          • Analyst Coverage
      • Shareholder Information
        • Investors
        • Shareholder Information
          • Acquisitions
          • Dividends
          • Drip
          • FAQ
      • Presentations and Events
    • News

      Progress happens quickly.

      Stay up to date with our latest global news, events, awards and more.

      News
      • Latest News
      • Press Releases
      Featured Content

      Scaling Up Healthcare Capacity At Speed

      With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, our global healthcare network and specialist teams have…

    • Contact us

      We are dedicated to our local communities and driven by global talent.

      Contact us to find out how our diversified offering, world-class expertise and geographical reach can assist you in achieving your vision.


      Follow us

      Contact us
      • Send a Message
      • Offices
    • Investors

      Discover our diverse business, financial results and strategic ambitions.

      We are committed to delivering sustainable value to our shareholders and exceptional professional services to our clients.

      Read more
      Investors
      • Corporate Governance
      • Press Releases
      • Reports & Filings
      • Stock Information
      • Shareholder Information
      • Presentations and Events
      Corporate Governance
      • Audit Committee
      • Board of Directors
      • Business Conduct Hotline
      • Constating Documents
      • Governance Documents
      • Governance Ethics and Compensation Committee
      • Mandates
      Reports & Filings
      • AIF
      • Annual
      • Information Circular
      • Quarterly
      • SEDAR Filings
      • Sustainability
      Stock Information
      • Analyst Coverage
      Shareholder Information
      • Acquisitions
      • Dividends
      • Drip
      • FAQ
      Featured Content
      Thn-Web-Q42020-Results

      WSP's Q4 and 2020 Results

      We released our 2020 fourth quarter and fiscal results on February 24, 2021 after market close.

    • Investors
      • Corporate Governance
        • Investors
        • Corporate Governance
          • Audit Committee
          • Board of Directors
          • Business Conduct Hotline
          • Constating Documents
          • Governance Documents
          • Governance Ethics and Compensation Committee
          • Mandates
      • Press Releases
      • Reports & Filings
        • Investors
        • REPORTS & FILINGS
          • AIF
          • Annual
          • Information Circular
          • Quarterly
          • SEDAR Filings
          • Sustainability
      • Stock Information
        • Investors
        • Stock Information
          • Analyst Coverage
      • Shareholder Information
        • Investors
        • Shareholder Information
          • Acquisitions
          • Dividends
          • Drip
          • FAQ
      • Presentations and Events
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Press Releases
    • Contact us
      • Send a Message
      • Offices
  1. $name
  2. Insights
  3. Thoughts on the post-pandemic office

Thoughts on the post-pandemic office

A better workplace can be the catalyst for a better normal

31 July, 2020

It’s better to know what you don’t know than to rush into making decisions, and it’s clear that there will be no single answer to the workplace after COVID-19. The solution will be different for every organization, and encompass many elements — from healthier environments to transportation, to productivity and emotional wellbeing.

At WSP, we have a deep understanding of workplace, so we’re well placed to help our clients to navigate to that better normal as a partner and a trusted advisor. With 50,000 employees around the world, we have also been thinking hard about our own response. Culture is important for any organization, but particularly for professional services firms. Having the best people, the best thinking and the best ideas is our competitive advantage — and when your mission is to enhance communities through great buildings and infrastructure, there’s no substitute for being there physically.

Many organisations have been able to work from home very successfully during the pandemic. This is partly because everyone has buckled down in a crisis, but it’s also because we’ve accumulated a lot of social and cultural capital. If this situation was to continue for years rather than months, how much of that capital would be left? For those of us who have already had the opportunity to develop great networks, working from home has been a revelation. But you can’t build a career that way. Emerging professionals need to be mentored, and to have face-to-face discussions with colleagues and clients. It’s easy to collaborate virtually with people you know, but how do you forge new relationships and win work in a virtual world? Ultimately, offices will always be part of the DNA of businesses because we need to go to the office to interact, to socialize, to collaborate and innovate, to learn.

Perhaps we should look at it from a different angle. From now on, we’re going to have a more distributed workforce. There will be people working from home, from the office and from clients’ offices, people working in different geographies and in the cloud, and people working different shifts to fit around their family commitments or lifestyle. So the real challenge for any organization is to provide the right environment and the tools to support that distributed workforce to be productive and achieve the right work-life balance.

There are positives to working from home, but the flipside is that it can feel as if you’re sleeping in the office. That’s not good for our health and it’s not sustainable for the long term, so we need to find better ways of making a demarcation between our home and work lives. Next in this series, WSP will be looking at how healthcare can respond to the lessons from COVID-19. The pandemic has emphasized that health begins not in the hospital but at home — in the places where we live and work, and in cities that nurture, nourish and sustain. The way we organize and accommodate work is crucial to our wellbeing, but it has wider implications too. What if instead of working from home, I decided to walk to a flexible office space on my local high street? What if there was a whole new community of people all walking or cycling in, sharing the same office space, buying coffee or having a pint in the evening? Wouldn’t that be a great way to revitalize our town centres?

COVID-19 is forcing us to rethink our built environment in many ways, and it presents us with a unique opportunity. If we can create a better normal workplace, we will be one step closer to a better normal world.

Download the whole of WSP's series on the post-pandemic office

More on this subject

thn-wp-alliance-contracting

February 2021

Leveraging Project Procurement and Delivery Approaches for Positive Outcomes

White Paper
Mobility , Places , Resources , COVID-19 , Resilience
Indigenous Cultures-Thumbnail

February 2021

Embracing Indigenous Cultures to Address Infrastructure Needs

Feature
Places , Resilience , Society
thn-Winners-without-losers-better-normal

February 2021 | 8 minutes

Net Zero: Can We Have Winners Without Losers?

Blog
Places , Resilience , COVID-19
thn-Web-Maritime_Reefer

February 2021

Setting sail for more efficient and greener trade by sea

Feature
Climate , Mobility , Resilience
thn-what-else-Net-zero-better-normal

January 2021 | 11 minutes

What Else Can Net Zero Do For Us?

Blog
Resilience , Resources , Society , COVID-19
thn-mlk-street-closure-encourages-recreation

December 2020 | 3:00 minutes

WSP USA Study: Street Closure Encourages Recreational Activity During Pandemic

United States
White Paper
COVID-19 , Mobility
Thn-Web-VZ-ITS-Article6

December 2020

Creating Safe Road Ecosystems

Feature
Mobility , Technology , Places , Society
thn-wsp-uber-whitepaper

December 2020

Future Ready Kerbside: Creating Places That Put People First

Australia
White Paper
Places , Resilience , Society
Thn-Web-VZ-ITS-Article5

November 2020

Designing Out Flaws Within Road Transportation Systems

Feature
Mobility , Places , Resilience , Society , Technology
thn-news-waterways

November 2020 | 2 minutes

Water at the heart of long-term thinking for sustainable urban development

New Zealand
Feature
Places , Climate , Society
Thn-Web-Insight-TI-Electric-Vehicles

November 2020

Continuing the Shift to Electric Vehicles

Feature
Mobility , Places , Technology
Cities after COVID

November 2020 | 15 minutes

Cities After COVID: How Can We Create A Positive Legacy For Health And Wellbeing?

Feature
COVID-19 , Places , Resilience , Society

Author

Tom Smith

Share this page

  • Share on Facebook - Warning, this link will open a new tab.
  • Share on Linkedin - Warning, this link will open a new tab.
  • Share on Twitter - Warning, this link will open a new tab.
  • Share on Skype - Warning, this link will open your Skype application.


Related themes and tags

  • COVID-19 (59)

  • Places (157)

  • Resilience (183)


  • Buildings (86)
  • Workplace (20)
  • Wellbeing (31)
  • Future Ready (101)
  • Better Normal (24)
  •   Page will open in a new tab
  •   Page will open in a new tab
  •   Page will open in a new tab
  •   Page will open in a new tab
  •   Page will open in a new tab
  • Who We Are
  • What We Stand For
  • Our Story
  • Future Ready
  • Regional Leadership
  • Our Offices
  • What We Do
  • Sectors
  • Services
  • Projects
  • Insights
  • Climate
  • Mobility
  • Places
  • Society
  • Resources
  • Technology
  • Careers
  • Join Our Team
  • Spontaneous Application
  • Corporate
  • Sustainability
  • Health and Safety
  • Investors
  • Business Conduct Hotline
  • News
  • Corporate Governance
  • Ethics and Integrity
    ©2021 WSP
    • The WSP Logo
    • Privacy Policy
    • Anti-Spam Commitment
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Use
    ©2021 WSP

    Exiting our Website

    You are about to leave WSP.com and are being redirected to a job opportunity at Louis Berger, which has been recently acquired by WSP in the US.