Considerations for Returning to the Workplace Post COVID-19

It’s too early to tell how COVID-19 will ultimately alter the way we work but most industry professionals are in agreement that the office workplace will change. While office spaces sit unoccupied due to stay-at-home orders in place, it’s a good time to start thinking about the precautions your business will have to implement to ensure your safe return to the workplace.

Your Temporary Office Layout 

 Physical changes to the office layout will need to be considered in preparation for your employees returning to the office once shelter-in-place guidelines are lifted. These changes will need to take employee health safety into account to ensure new guidelines are being maintained, such as maintaining a 6-foot distance between colleagues. In the plans below, MADGI and MDA put together an example of what these changes might look like.  Below, you will find a list of tips to help make some immediate small changes to your office in order to ensure employee health safety.

Culture

• Communicate transparently and survey regularly. Recognize the fear that employees might have in returning to work.

Density

• Stagger employees in the office over multiple days to reduce the office population.
• Reduce the amount of shared desking between users. If this isn’t an option for your office implement a clean-in, clean-out policy.
• Install signage that clearly indicates the occupancy of a room while maintaining a 6ft distance.

Geometry

• Rotate workstations to reduce face-to-face orientation or pull desks apart to create 6ft separations.
• Remove chairs in meeting rooms and locate remaining chairs in order to maintain 6ft separations.
• Rearrange soft collaboration areas to maintain a 6ft distance. On long benches or sofas indicate a 6ft separation with temporary markings.

Division

• Install barriers where alterations to density or geometry are limited. Existing storage components and plants can be rearranged to create barriers between spaces and temporary screens can be installed between workstations to reinforce distancing.

Cleaning

• Install cleaning stations around the office.
• Increase routine cleaning of high traffic areas.
• Implement deep cleaning protocols and a clean desk policy.
• Implement hands-free abilities where ever possible.
• Rethink how food plans are arranged.

AV

• Increase video conferencing capabilities to workstations and meeting rooms to provide connections to those not in the office.

Temporary Office Layout Post COVID-19

• Relocate existing storage to enforce distancing.
• Install screens where alterations to density or geometry are limited.
• Remove chairs in congested areas or relocate to maintain 6ft separations.
• Rearrange collaboration areas to maintain a 6ft distance and indicate a 6ft separation with temporary markings if necessary.
• Install cleaning stations at key points around the office.

Click on the link below to download the Post COVID-19 Workplace Tips Document.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8o33qtib77ekaw/Post%20Covid%20Workplace%20Tips_MDA%20%2B%20MADGI.pdf?dl=0