There’s no denying that these are unusual times we find ourselves in right now. After asking staff to work from home (WFH) over the past three months to combat the virus and reduce its spread, the pressure is now on for businesses to comply with government-led guidelines as lockdown restrictions are starting to be (slowly) eased.

Now, we know for sure that the WFH life can take some getting used to. And, many people are itching to get back to the office where they can restore some normality. But if only it was as easy as that…

Businesses must take several steps to ensure that the workplace is ‘COVID-secure’. This can be anything from supplying PPE (personal protective equipment), such as disposable face masks, visors and gloves, and increasing the frequency of cleaning and handwashing to completely changing the office layout to meet social distancing measures.

Here we take a look at three of the best ways to adapt your office for safe working, including some simple techniques that won’t take too long to implement.

Hygiene precautions

As an employer, you must protect your workers against harm. One of the easiest – yet most important – things you can do is introduce additional hygiene practices.

Hand soaps and sanitising gels, along with antibacterial wipes and dispensers, are relatively cheap to purchase from local supermarkets, and can effectively reduce the risk.

Staff rotation

It’s worth pointing out that lockdown restrictions haven’t been lifted completely (as of yet) so you still need to limit the number of staff in the office at any given time.

Consider speaking to your employees and get a feel for who is happy to continue working remotely for the time being, and who is starting to miss the office routine, to help keep the numbers down.

Another thing you can do to ensure your office is COVID-secure is stagger break times. Staff tend to congregate at break and lunch so, by staggering break times, you can limit the number of people in the kitchen or canteen at the same time. You should encourage workers to take a step outside (away from their work station) for a breath of fresh air and always keep a safe distance apart from others.

Office spacing

An important factor to consider when returning to work is how much space there is in your office.

We recommend that you avoid hot-desking wherever possible and make sure that all desks are safely spaced and divided. Try and keep the number of people in each work area to a minimum as large groups will make it difficult to social distance.

There are many things you can do to help staff to keep their distance, including the installation of safety screens and movable walls which can provide a physical barrier between workers.

Invest in movable walls from AEG Partitions today

Here at AEG Partitions, we have a fantastic range of movable walls to choose from – each manufactured to an exceptionally high standard and priced very competitively.

The great thing about a movable partition wall from our collection is that it’s extremely flexible and allows you to divide the office into separate departments. Our partitions provide a temporary solution for office division – so, if you ever want to change the layout or design, you can do so without having to knock any walls down or build new.

Not only can movable walls help to prevent the spread of germs, they can also improve the acoustics in the office too – just opt for one of our acoustic movable walls. Available in a range of acoustic ratings, these offer excellent sound insulation and can help you to create amicable working conditions for your staff – enabling them to work productively without any disturbances.

Our experts will take care of everything from the design of movable walls, right through to installation, service and maintenance. To discuss your requirements in more detail, get in touch. You can either call us on 0333 305 0050 or drop us an email at sales@aegpartitions.com, and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.