The lockdowns and stay at home orders that characterized COVID forced changes to the use, or rather the lack thereof, of our own firm’s office spaces. 

At the tail end of 2019, our firm consisted of five offices spread between California and Arizona with two employees working remotely from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Over the years, we figured out that this was the set-up that worked best for us, streamlining business and allowing clients who lived in varying locations all to make it in for in-person meetings. This was of particular use when factoring in the busy California traffic that some clients would have to navigate to get to us. However, much like everything else, our once convenient set-up of offices was severely disrupted by COVID. 

Our first office was virtual and thus nothing changed as it was often closed in the midst of the COVID lockdowns. Our second office was totally vacated, leading us to the decision that it was best not to renew the lease when the time came. One employee who had formerly worked in this second office decided to set up shop in our third office which otherwise remained totally unused. Our fourth office also sat vacant, however employees returned once it was deemed permissible and safe to do so. Finally, our fifth office in Arizona lay dormant until some of our staff returned as restrictions were lifted. However, these employees faced additional challenges as noisy renovations had begun in this complex upon their return. 

This, what felt like, mass scale game of musical chairs generated a number of issues adding to the never ending pile of work based demands. For one, we had to move everything contained in the three-thousand-square-foot office number two into storage upon vacating it. At a time when most people were not working, it was not hard to foresee that this would be a difficult process. Additionally, we had to make sure that someone (but only one person to minimize contact) was in the office to collect our deliveries when they arrived. We had to get essential cleaning crews into the offices, while ensuring they had no contact with our own employees. Furthermore, clients continually tried to come into our offices upon seeing parked cars and so informing them that we were not doing in-person meetings became another full-time responsibility. Logistically, this time period became a nightmare for us and accountancy firms across the US.