Workspaces & COVID-19: Ten Simple Tricks that will help you adapt
October 12, 2020
4 min
Sooner than later, we’ll fully go back to our day-to-day lives and to our workspaces and offices - under new perspectives, guidelines, and regulations. We’ll have to do our collective best to prevent any further spread of contamination to our colleagues by practicing new health and safety measures. At Unicorn Workspaces we’ve been figuring out some easy yet effective methods to guarantee a safe workplace in the face of a public health emergency.
That’s why we have prepared these 10 measures to be implemented to make the behavioral change for everyone easier.
1. Wear a mask in the workspace!
This applies not only to Baristas and Community managers while preparing your favorite hot drink or snack, but also for yourself if you are moving outside your own office.
2. Make clear who is in charge of the workspace
Appoint someone from the team who will be in charge of executing and enforcing prevention measures responsibly. If you run your team office, this person will obviously be you. Combine this action with communication measures, including guidance from occupational health and safety employees, instructions from meetings and information on the intranet, internet, and trusted sources.
3. Create clean desk policies in your office
From Order Breeds Habit, so create clean desk policies - that allow surfaces and individual areas to be properly cleaned daily and updated by the facility maintenance crew to ensure these steps are taken and guaranteed for the hygienic safety of all.
4. Transparency is Key- Do what you say, and say what you do
A clean-kept registry of spaces and places that have been disinfected should be placed in a visibly accessible area for all workers to consult. Hours the area was cleaned and with which products were used to disinfect the area should be cataloged for the benefit of anyone who wants to know this vital information.
5. Friendly Reminders in the office :)
People respond well and remember a message clearer with creative approaches. So why not get the design or marketing departments to team build some great ideas of visual representations?
6. Give’em some Space in the office!
The reduction of employees per office or meeting room is not only important, but it’s also very essential. With a minimum area of 1-2 square meters around each person, physical distancing is one of the most crucial practices to keep safe and healthy.
7. Carry the Essentials
Indispensable items like sanitizers, disinfectants, soaps, gloves, and masks (apparently toilet paper too) will become fundamental to assure everyone’s protection within the work environment. The strategic placement of touchless hand sanitizers all through the establishment is decisive, especially near entrances or exits so inhouse collaborators and visitors have access to sterilize any nasty little Coronaviruses hiding in your palms.
8. Open Windows is the new Air Conditioning
Commodities that we’ve learned to adore, like the air conditioner, are now an object of the past. A study published by the Centers for Disease Control finds that due to air not being able to circulate new fresh-air into the environment, an air conditioner provides the perfect atmosphere for it to thrive on the air currents an A/C provides. That’s why the good old fan, air purifiers with ionic capabilities, and open windows will be our best friends (even in winter).
9. Give old gadgets a new purpose
“ BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! ” Alert! We’ve heard these sounds our entire lives. Set up blinking alarms, cuckoo clocks or gongs, reminding the teams working from your workspace to sanitize screens, keys and keyboards every 2 hours. - we must take the time and have the patience to incorporate these habits into our daily routines.
10. Don’t forget to smile!
No one might see you smile while you were a mask, but it will help you keep a positive attitude. We promise!
It is certain, that the way people look at public and collaborative spaces will change forever. So by having a rigorously organized, practical and prude plan of attack against the coronavirus should help mitigate risks for employers and employees once we head back to the workspace and our offices.
There are going to be greater expectations for health and hygiene standards in restaurants, offices, warehouses, and so many other sectors and industries. And yes, it’s very probable social interactions will be different too. Maybe the handshake belongs to the past? Who knows!? The good news is, that this isn’t so bad if you have a plan in motion.
By executing these basic and simple measures, all will be benefited from a more hygienic, safe and healthy work environment. By no means do these measures completely prevent or puts an end to Coronavirus - but they will counter-attack and thwart COVID-19 from spreading even more. Prevention procedures are put in place to limit and contain infections or infected from further contamination. This type of control effort and new practicable habits are necessary if we are to live socially in our day-to-day. In order to that, we must be civil and maintain cleanliness and safe social practices.