THE OFFICE Making the New Workplace Work for People COVID-19 has changed how we work. It has led to re-examining the tools we need to work, the technology at our disposal, and how we understand work-life balance. This has significant implications for human rights and will continue to be a focus in 2021. Working from home sounds simple and easy, but by some estimates, only 42% of economic activity can be performed from home. COVID-19 reminds us that even in the middle of a global health crisis, essential workers are needed to grow food, load trucks, and distribute groceries; sick and injured still need transport to hospitals, where nurses and technicians and doctors treat them; cities still need cleaning; trains and taxis and buses need to run; firefighters and police officers still need to respond. The pandemic requires a rethink of workplaces: how should we design our cities, office towers, and work environments? Social distancing norms require more space between work-stations which could lead to bigger offices. For legal reasons, companies may scan the temperature of employees on arrival and monitor employee movements within premises, raising challenges about data retention and privacy. Companies may decide to invest in intrusive surveillance technology to monitor how employees work from home – sensitive research and intelligence jobs will actually require this, and that too raises significant privacy concerns. footprint because fewer workers will commute. But such changes may have adverse impacts on the mental health of isolated, atomised workers. Companies will have to reimagine health and safety, to ensure their staff working in an environment which is not within the company’s control is nonetheless consistent with employee well-being and mental wellness. “ The year ahead will need greater attention to ensuring that redesigning workspaces and ‘building back better’ are centred on people and their human rights. ” Changes to the world of work for women will require special consideration. Evidence shows how women in abusive relationships face increased vulnerability if they spend prolonged periods at home with abusive family members. Companies will have to offer safe spaces for women, and access to day-care or other caregiving facilities, and respect their right to a family life in setting tasks or targets to achieve. The year ahead will need greater attention to ensuring that redesigning workspaces and ‘building back better’ are centred on people and their human rights. Factories that rely on assembly-line production will redesign their shop-floor to expand space between individual units, possibly making factories more humane. Some companies may no longer need physical space, with some reduction in the carbon & Human Rights 2021 Business Top 10 Issues Institute for Human Rights and Business 13