Coronavirus-Covid 19 Business Guidance

With companies getting ready to reopen and bring staff back into the workplace there is much to do, learn, translate and implement.

We’re continuing through this unprecedented period in our history with records being set for: 

  • Unemployment
  • Business Closures
  • Remote workers
  • Government stimulus
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Where does all of this lead is anyone’s guess and some of the best minds are truly guessing. Guidelines have been issued, more will certainly come and new adaptations will have to occur. Owners and managers are being forced to look at their businesses in new ways and plan for issues that were not present in our world even just a few months ago, remember way back to January 2020?

We know that there is a lot of information out there, our intention is not to add to the confusion but instead be a resource if you need one. We’ll start with what we are hearing and then offer some practical guides that may be of assistance.  If you are looking for something specific and can’t find it drop us a line and maybe we can help.

So on the big picture here is what we're seeing and hearing:

  • Clear dividers being used to create separation at desks and cubes (think really large sneeze guards).
  • Lowering the density of people in the office through removing furniture as needed and phasing when people are coming to the office.
  • Implementing traffic plans to move staff in one direction to avoid crossing paths (like any major downtown street scene).
  • Revising receptions / guest areas to allow for temperature taking, washing hands, covering shoes, etc. Ways to eliminate outside visitors from bringing in harmful elements.
  • Raising panel heights back to 64-66″ is discussed, but currently seems to be a big leap.
  • Revising HVAC systems to bring in more outside air instead of recirculating inside air.
  • Opening up small conference rooms (removing a wall) to allow for more circulation of air and people.
  • What to do about elevators? Most elevators are only large enough for a single person to maintain social distancing guidelines. Use of stairs will be emphasized but that does not work for tall buildings.

That’s a big list already and we are just beginning the changes. As time marches on we will no doubt see new guidelines from scientists, government officials, design experts, etc. As we hear and see more major items we’ll update our list.

Spacing Guidelines

The current spacing guideline is 6′ (72″) of space between people. So our suggestions start with this figure. 

Depending on your office layout, cubicle size or spacing you may be surprised about how close you are to this guideline already. This link HERE will take you to a page where we’ve provided a number of layouts with dimensions to give you ideas on spacing. 

With the infinite variety of work space sizes and configurations this is just a starting point for you.

Open Office Ideas

Is the open office dead? Like so much we hear in the news there is much to discuss about the open office and we aren’t going to take that topic on here, except to say changes are inevitable due to its inherent nature to act as a Petri Dish for pathogens in the office. 

Too much money has been invested in offices to simply dump it and start over. This is especially true with our current economic climate with lost sales, profits and clients that will certainly take its toll. 

So what to do? We will be sharing thoughts on this issue in future posts. If you have ideas, concerns or questions we welcome hearing from you.

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