Bank of Montreal is preparing for a version 2.0 of life after the coronavirus pandemic, with plans being made for ongoing physical distancing and a blend of working at home and in offices.

“As communities around the world plan for ending lockdowns and opening economies we’ve introduced our opening road map,” Chief Executive Officer Darryl White said Wednesday in a LinkedIn post. “This isn’t about ‘returning to work’ or ‘heading back’ — we never stopped working for our customers.”

The work that employees do and where they do it will be adapted to “an era of physical distancing,” White said, adding that the top priorities for the Toronto-based bank will be health and safety of employees and customers and the delivery of critical banking services. Canada’s fourth-largest lender, which has significant operations in the U.S., will roll out “a 2.0 version of how we used to work,” he said.

“For work not already happening onsite that requires a BMO location we’ll begin a gradual opening of properties in waves/stages, informed by public health authorities but on our schedule” with the goal of understanding “the full magnitude of each step,” White said. “Economic openings are going to be complex and unique by region.”