It’s not change, it’s progress: how we enjoy a safe, productive workplace today.

It’s certainly no understatement to say that the global pandemic has changed how business is carried out – and faster than we could have imagined. In where we work, how we work and even the way we interact with our customers and colleagues, many organisations already look very different when you compare them with 2019. Even the small details of your day probably look and feel a bit different – but how?

 

Well, you might have already noticed that your morning commute is less crowded and hectic, as more employees work from home some of the time, or while their businesses stagger arrival times. Entry into office buildings is changing too and you may already use touch-free technologies as you walk in. Contactless key cards, QR codes, facial or voice recognition are all becoming commonplace as we enter our offices, which are all great ways of avoiding hands-on contact as much as possible.

 

Once we’re inside, there are some perhaps less obvious changes. Unseen silver ions in antimicrobial films prevent microbes from multiplying and silently protect us when we need to touch office devices and or other shared areas. These films can also be hard-wearing enough to shield sensitive technologies like touchscreens from disinfectant chemicals and may even reduce how often cleaning is required. Of course, not only are these products playing an important part in making offices safer for us all, but they also help us to feel more at ease when working in shared spaces. After a year when so many of us have worked in our own homes, where we feel comfortable and safe, it’s more important than ever to feel confident that our workplaces are equally protected.

 

Our need for social distancing has also given us some great management tools that let us book our desks and meeting rooms online and schedule our days using travel data that helps us avoid crowds. Even something as normal as ordering lunch can be made safer by booking a delivery on an app, rather than queueing at a coffee shop.

 

When it comes to the devices we use every day, technology will also solve some important problems through easy remote and contactless device management. For instance, where you might already use a touchscreen to operate a printer, you can now use an app on your phone. And because we work in a new ‘hybrid’ way, it will work equally whether you’re standing next to the device, (but just prefer not to touch it) or are working from home and sending documents to the office to be printed. This digitisation also works in reverse: turning physical documents into digital data that can be accessed from anywhere in the world, by anyone with the right security credentials. This particular element of digital transformation has been a really important goal for many businesses over the past few years and working ‘virtually’ has given it a very welcome push up the list of priorities.

 

We at Canon have long experience in supporting businesses at every stage of their digital transformation with our hardware, solutions and best-in-class expertise. Working with customers as they undergo rapid change is something we are very familiar with. We call it progress.