The world is not what it once was at the moment and we all know how difficult it can be to get back to normal after the pandemic. Covid has reaped havoc on many businesses and a lot of us have had to move all of our operations to remote working for the time being as we wait for things to be safe enough. If you are looking to soon get back to the office with skeleton staff to help run your business — we want to talk about some of the ways you can keep it safe and ensure it is a suitable workplace for your employees. Here are some of the ways you can create a safe office environment for your employees this month.
By Team Savant
Image: Johanna Adriaansen
Improve Ventilation
One of the first things you should think about doing is opening the windows of the office as well as invest in better ventilation for your office space. It is important to do this because Covid can be spread through particles in the air — so by keeping air flow high you should be able to avoid the risk of Covid getting to anyone in your office.
Allow Flexible Days
It is a great idea if you are looking to bring people back into your office this year to allow flexible days for people to work from home and in the office. By allowing your employees to choose 2-3 days a week to work in the office and the rest at home; you can minimise the number of people in the office at one time and this will make a big difference to your ability to keep the office safe for everyone inside it.
Disinfect Everything
It is crucial as an office owner that you take the time every single day to disinfect everything in the morning before people come in, and in the evening once people leave. Dettol can kill 99.9% of germs including Covid so spraying your surfaces with this twice a day and wiping down your desks is a must. It is so important to keep the office as clean as possible and this will reduce the risk of any infection spreading between members of your company. You can also provide antibacterial wipes to employees so that they can work on wiping their own things during the day.
Invest In Pressurised Gas
Pressurised gas sprays are an essential for office cleaning because it will get rid of all of the difficult to clean dust and crumbs in between your keyboard. It is a great idea for you to invest in a gas spray to make sure that there is no food or debris between the keys of your keyboard as well as hard to reach places in your office.
Space Out The Desks
When bringing people back into your office, it is incredibly important to still take the time to space out your desks and make sure to have social distancing. Desks should allow for a space of 2 metres between each worker and this will allow for a safe space for each of your workers to be every day.
Have A One Way System
If you have an office that is a large room, it is a good idea for you to have some arrow stickers on the floor and enforce a one way system for your employees. The reason for this is that you will reduce the contact people have with each other and this reduces the risk of infection. Any small way you can avoid contact with others is worth the effort.
Create a Cleaning Rota
It is a good idea if you go back to the office this year to consider creating a cleaning rota for your employees. It is more important than ever to make sure the office is clean at all times and there should be no more sticky surfaces in the kitchen or teaspoons left in the sink. Make sure everyone pulls their weight with a cleaning rota and make sure it is fair.
Install Hand Wash Stations
Hand wash is a crucial part of your office safety routine and you need to take the time to install some hand wash stations outside every door of the office. This will be a simple way to encourage your employees to wash their hands when they enter and leave a room and it will help to reduce the risk of any infections.
Stagger Lunch Times
One of the clever ways to reduce human contact in the office and keep everyone safe at work is to stagger lunchtimes and ensure that not everyone is out on their lunch at the same time. This is particularly useful if you have only a small kitchen or seating area because it will allow everyone to be comfortable during their lunchtime and have somewhere to sit without being close to anyone else.
Have A Toilet Policy
It is incredibly important to consider the use of toilets in your office during the pandemic. As we know the toilet is one of the places where we have the most germs and the most risk — which is why only allowing one person in at once is a must. Have a sign on the door that can be flipped when someone walks into the bathroom to let others know that it is not available.
Don’t Allow Use Of Office Mugs
When trying to reduce the spread of germs and the risk of Covid in the office it is important for you to not allow the use of office cutlery, cookware, or cups. It might seem a little extreme however you want to reduce the amount of contamination between the people in your office — and by not allowing cross use of office cookware you can keep people safe.
It is so important to keep the office sanitary and safe this year and there are plenty of helpful ways to do it. Use these tips and your common sense to keep the office safe and sanitary for your workers this year.