As employees begin to return to the office, a primary focus will be safeguarding the health and wellness of all who enter the workspace. To promote social distancing, encourage cleanliness, and mitigate the spread of germs, certain changes and even an office redesign may be necessary. Environments Denver understands the importance of rearranging your office to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. Here are some redesign tips to help you navigate this new territory.
One-Step Redesigns to Ensure Workers are Safe Upon Return
Creating physical space between individuals is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In populated workspaces and open floor-plan offices, this proves especially difficult. While many offices are welcoming back 50% of the staff, this can still mean coworkers are too close for comfort.
Spread desks out and install clear partitions where necessary, or panels with greater height. Remove half of the seating from communal spaces including the kitchen, conference room, and lounge areas. Pack away communally used items like cutlery, coffee mugs, dish towels, and the like.
Increase the Budget for Cleaning
Restock on janitorial supplies and set up sanitizing stations in highly trafficked areas. Keep a running inventory of cleaning supplies and order as needed to ensure the staff has access to antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes.
Hiring a janitorial service to perform a monthly deep cleaning can be extremely helpful in keeping the office environment sanitary. Extracting dirt and grime can also help improve indoor air quality and be gentler on your HEPA filter.
A Return to Past Floor Plans
Office designs of previous decades focused on providing employees their own work areas. However, as more progressive work environments came onto the scene, the open floor plan was implemented to foster collaboration. Now that social distancing is taking top priority, a shift back to cubicles and partitions will become more commonplace. Swap large group tables, and open break out zones for single work spaces and desks to promote physical distancing.
Long-Term Solutions
It’s safe to assume that at least some safety protocols are here to stay. Installing touchless devices can help keep your staff and clients safer, even if health regulations loosen up. Consider the most frequently touched items in an office building or workplace. Door handles, sink faucets, elevator buttons, and light switches see plenty of action throughout the day, but all have the ability to be touchless in the near future. Determine a future plan to make the switch from manual to automatic in certain areas of the workplace.
Environments Denver can help redesign your office space to adhere to current social distancing guidelines and plan for future safety measurements. Contact us today for a consultation.
