When it comes to post-pandemic workplace safety, creating space is king. We recommend gathering stakeholders like your HR team or health & safety committee to brainstorm physical distancing measures that could work in your office.

A simple first step to creating more space is to remove furniture. Pull apart tables and get rid of unused cabinets or other unnecessary items, so you can spread apart workstations and seating areas.

Consider controlling entry points to designated work areas and limiting the number of occupants at a time. You could cancel the use of conference rooms completely, restrict any in-person meetings that aren’t 100% essential, and opt for video conference or email instead. It’s also smart to limit external visitors whenever possible.

To help protect your employees, you can put space between them, or put a wall between them. In this new world of post-covid workplace safety, you have a lot of options for safety-enhancing barriers that work in an office.

You could place clear dividers between desks so that your employees still feel the comforting proximity of their coworkers, with an added partition of protection. You could also keep a divider at the front desk, and maybe opt for one with a window that has open/close capability between interactions.

If you’d like help determining which dividers would work for your office, we’d be happy to brainstorm with you.

Depending on the size and nature of your business, you may want to offer employees added peace of mind with the option of personal protective equipment (PPE). For office environments, appropriate PPE could include masks and single-use gloves, and possibly goggles or face shields. These items do enhance protection if not shared and kept clean, with a safe disposal practice in place.

Whatever PPE you make available to your team, you must ensure that all employees are trained on the proper fit, use, care, cleaning, and limitations of the equipment.