4 Ideas for Safe Offices
Post-Pandemic Office Spaces
The CoVid-19 has forced us to take a long hard look at life as we knew it. Everything has ground to a halt – it has never happened before in history! There is an opportunity here – this, now, is the time to make changes – something we would not have had time to do earlier. The Bubonic Plague in the late 18th century led to The Renaissance, and Coronavirus is bringing in the new world NOW! Together we have to ensure that we learn from this Act of God.
In this blog you will read how you can adapt your workplace to the changing times in the wake of this pandemic. The world has come to a stand-still and offices are shut – what does the future hold and how can you be prepared?
Here are some ideas to create a “safe” office for the future:
Reduce touchable surfaces:
- The first thing everyone touches on entering the office is a biometric scanner, but today this routine activity has become a threat! The solution is RFID tags – they can be read from a distance and no physical contact is required.
- Automatic doors, sensor taps and flushes is also an advancement towards a minimum-touch environment. Technology today has enabled us to overcome at least some limitations imposed on us by this virus, so let’s use it to move forward towards a better future.
- Measures will also need to be taken to provide disposable latex gloves for the staff as well as the employees for ensuring safety.
Anti-bacterial materials:
Well, where touch cannot be eliminated, we can definitely take measures to make it safer.
- Copper and its alloys are anti-bacterial materials which can be used for the most-touched surfaces like door handles, cupboard handles, and knobs.
- Cork is an ideal material for new offices owing to its natural anti-bacterial and acoustic properties. Cork is also renewable and recyclable!
Goodbye open-plan offices:
With “social-distancing” as the word of the hour, open-plan office layouts definitely have to go! Apart from all the other reasons why an open plan office is not ideal for a workspace, the physical proximity of the “crowd” of employees cannot work anymore. New offices need to be carefully planned to be efficient as well as safe.
New “safe” office layouts:
Today, a lot of people are finding it easier to work remotely. While staying safe, they are saving travel-time and enjoying flexibility too. As industry experts predict, this is a growing trend irrespective of the pandemic, the new workspaces might actually consider reducing in-office workstations. Multi-purpose areas can be created for employees attending office only for important meetings or discussions.
Another aspect that comes forward here since maximum database is on online cloud servers today – do we really need extra storage spaces near every workstation?
Everything around us today has changed, and we will emerge from this stronger, with a more sustainable lifestyle than before. As the way of working changes for us, so will our office spaces.
