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Our Homes Are Going to Look Very Different Post-Pandemic
Get ready for ‘Zoom rooms’ and decontamination zones in entryways
For many years, I happily worked from home in a kitchen counter setup that was ergonomically horrific but entirely my own. In March, my workspace was invaded; suddenly, people expected the kitchen to function as an actual kitchen — all day long. I could see (and hear) my husband’s office — formerly the dining room — from mine, and no one cared if I was on a call when they wanted to run the garbage disposal.
I’m far from alone in this new normal, and for many people, it won’t be temporary. A recent Gallup poll found that three in five workers who have been doing their jobs from home during the pandemic would prefer to continue to work remotely as much as possible, even when the economy reopens. If that’s the case, some things are going to have to change in the average American home: for instance, more flex rooms for offices or gyms, more outdoor space, and more storage for stocking up pantries and freezers.
“After this is over, we will all reflect on what we really, truly, need to live and be healthy and happy, and everything else will become extraneous real fast,” says Joe Allen, a professor of exposure science at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the…
