What does a post Covid-19 office look like?

The entire office culture across the UK has completely changed and most businesses will not return back to normal, instead a ‘new normal’ will have to be put in place.

Following lockdown, many businesses are gradually starting the process of getting their staff back to work and there are changes to the offices that have had to be made post-coronavirus.

Returning to work will have to happen in stages and the transition time will be stressful for all involved.

 

What returning to work will look like

Offices around the world are having to change the way they operate, it that means doing flexible working, for example, three days in the office and two days working remotely, or limiting the amount of staff in the offices completely, is something that has to be done.

Having an office presence is important for both processes and cultural practices and it’s going to be tempting to revert back to pre-pandemic. To help stop the spread of COVID-19 this needs to be watched carefully and enforced within the office environment.

There are three employee segments that can be considered:

  • Fully Remote working (All work can be completed at home, like a marketing role for example)
  • Hybrid Remote (As mentioned above, working at the office and at home on split days)
  • On-Site (For those that physically have to be in work, like tradespeople, cleaners etc)

 Get together with your employees and ask them what they’d prefer and if suitable for the type of business bring in the practices they want.

Redesigning the workplace

The pre-pandemic typical office was likely a mixture of private offices and open desks with staff sat side by side, meeting rooms and shared amenities. Well, this is not the case now as new measures have to be in place to keep your staff safe.

Businesses need to create workspaces to keep all employees safe, here are a few examples:

  1. Social Distancing measures must be put in place, meaning the staff are more spread out, although this does mean less staff will be allowed in the offices
  2. Bring in separate cubicles for all employees, protected with screens if needed, block off alternative desks in open-plan offices
  3. Staggered break times to ensure only a limited number of employees are in break out areas at any one time
  4. Introduce a one-way system around the office premises to ensure staff are socially distanced as much as possible
  5. Hand sanitising stations at entry and exit points, also if possible on all employees’ desks

Now is the time to initiate change

Employers around the UK need to start experimenting with bringing their employees back to offices if this isn’t possible then make working remotely more efficient by introducing more organisational digital software.

Experimenting isn’t going to hurt, if something doesn’t work for your company, try something different.

New cleaning measures are a must

Cleaning your office more effectively during and after the pandemic is vital and new cleaning regimes MUST be implemented to keep all employees safe.

Your new cleaning regime should include regular cleaning of high touch point areas on top of your regular cleaning, more frequent cleaning in high traffic areas should also be considered.

If there’s a case within your offices then a deep clean, disinfection and sanitisation should be considered before allowing people back into a possibly contaminated space.

Getting the right cleaning regime in place now, supported by the right professional cleaning company, offers reassurance for you, your employees and any visitors to your building.

If you have been doing the cleaning yourself or not getting the right level of support from your cleaning company it’s time to get in touch with your local ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services company, where you know you can rely on local commitment with national support and over 60 years of experience in the cleaning industry in the UK.