After more than a year and a half of the COVID-19 health crisis, companies are starting to think about a return to the office, which is unlikely to mean “back to business as usual.” Indeed, many companies are taking advantage of this opportunity to reflect on new ways of organizing work, be it to save space, to provide more flexibility or to attract new employees.

At the outset of the pandemic, the IRSST launched a call for proposals to Québec researchers to submit research proposals focused on developing occupational health and safety-related solutions in the context of the pandemic. Project Returning to Work Safely and Efficiently After the COVID-19 Health Crisis: An Operational Guide for Public Administration Institutions was awarded $60,000 in funding to better understand the issues related to the organization of work and spatial planning for the return to office buildings in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis. The results and findings of this study have led to the publication of a new practical guide, which includes the factors that should be taken into account to facilitate the return to the office and to transition to new ways of organizing work. This guide is intended as a proposal to support the steps taken by those responsible for the return to the office.