Preparing Your Workplace for Reopening

01 November 2021
Anonymous
Preparing Your Workplace for Reopening

As COVID-19 vaccination rates rise across most of the country, an increasing number of workplaces are returning to onsite operation in some capacity. But with questions still lingering about the Delta variant and its transmissibility among vaccinated individuals, returning to in-person work begs a degree of caution and implementation of certain common-sense safety measures.

Air Purification

The current evidence around and understanding of SARS-CoV-2 suggests that air purification is one of the most potent tools for reducing transmission of the virus. In contained spaces, infections become increasingly likely as the viral load in the air rises. Ventilation, social distancing, and mask-wearing all help to keep that airborne load low, but they may pale in comparison to air purification. HEPA filtration, as in the Fellowes® HEPA and Carbon Filtration Air Purifiers, is especially effective at removing viruses and other contaminants from the air; these devices are quickly gaining traction in environments where other methods are either impossible or cumbersome to productivity.

Reducing Communal Spaces

Offices that are currently set up with communal workspaces, especially shared desks, will likely need to be reevaluated as employees return. The reasoning is twofold. First, as already discussed, spreading employees out over as much of the office space as possible is desirable for controlling the viral load in the air and, therefore, the spread of COVID-19 (and other illnesses). Workspaces that cram people into close proximity—especially arrangements where they sit across from another with no barriers and/or inadequate space between—offer too much unnecessary opportunity for the virus to thrive. Second, many people have adopted routines that purposefully involve less close contact with others; asking them to return to offices where they’ll be working in tight quarters has the potential to ignite an undesirable wave of churn, especially in the current culture of workforce realignment.

Mobile standing desks like the Safco® Scoot Stand-Up Desk and Safco® Muv™ Stand-Up Adjustable-Height Desk offer an ideal solution since they can easily be moved to put more space between employees. Fixed solutions like the Alera® Single Pedestal Steel Desk are also perfectly viable in spaces where a more static layout are advantageous or necessary. The heart of the idea is to make sure that every employee has as much of their own workspace as possible.

Disinfecting

Many workplaces employ professional cleaners (or professional cleaning services), but a sizeable number task employees with some or all of the cleaning chores. In such cases, one of the most important tools to have available is a quality disinfectant. Preloaded wipes, like Airx RX 75 Antibacterial Disinfectant Cleaner Wipes or Seventh Generation® Botanical Disinfecting Wipes, are great for spot disinfecting of local areas like desktops and small-to-medium appliances like keyboards and phones.

Whatever your workplace needs, the professionals at Gergely’s Maintenance King can help you pinpoint the perfect products. Let our years of expertise work for you. Contact us today.

View All Entries