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What are you doing to make your office safe to return to?

Sienna

Hello

We are a small company of 40 employees and are beginning to think about a plan to return everyone to the office.  We have done an employee survey to find out what people are thinking, concerns etc.  I think the general feeling is that as we have all been working from home since the end of March then why rush back unless its essential.

However the MD has a slightly different view and we at least need to explore HOW we make the workplace safe and if it's not possible or just too difficult then we will continue to work from home until government guidance changes.

So I'm interested to find out what you have done, for example in toilets, kitchens and other communal areas? Do you have hand sanitiser everywhere?  Temperature checks?  Alternating days in the office? How did you deal with those people with no medical issues as such but high anxiety about returning?  Is air conditioning an issue - I have asked our supplier the question but no response yet.

It would be great to find out what others are doing in similar situations.

Thanks

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  • Hi Sienna
    My company's a similar size to yours but based across two locations. We are starting a very gradual return of only people who want to, for now. There are people who want to for various reasons - having a poor setup at home, lack of space, finding it easier to concentrate in the office, etc. We are saying for now we will have maximum 50% capacity on any given day, so people have to let the office manager know if they will be
    1. Returning permanently every day (a few people so far) or
    2. Coming in 1-2 days per week (more popular).
    Everyone signs in and out at reception so we know who was there when.

    We have hand sanitiser everywhere: at the front entrance, by the lifts, by the toilets, kitchen, etc. We have provided "no touch keys" for people using the lift so they don't have to press the buttons, although we have advised everyone to use the stairs if they are able to.

    All teatowels etc have been replaced with paper towels and we are asking people to bring pre-prepared food from home or eat outside the office (i.e. no food prep going on in the kitchen) and to use their own mug and where possible refillable water bottle rather than cups. Max two people in the kitchen at a time (it's a huge room). We have provided Dettol wipes to wipe down shared things (e.g. kettle, microwave buttons, printer buttons)

    AC is an issue - we've been advised not to use it. We are currently running it first thing in the morning to get an airflow and then turning off when people arrive. There is HSE guidance on this - it depends whether your AC system brings in fresh air or just recirculates (the latter is the problem).
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  • Hi Sienna
    My company's a similar size to yours but based across two locations. We are starting a very gradual return of only people who want to, for now. There are people who want to for various reasons - having a poor setup at home, lack of space, finding it easier to concentrate in the office, etc. We are saying for now we will have maximum 50% capacity on any given day, so people have to let the office manager know if they will be
    1. Returning permanently every day (a few people so far) or
    2. Coming in 1-2 days per week (more popular).
    Everyone signs in and out at reception so we know who was there when.

    We have hand sanitiser everywhere: at the front entrance, by the lifts, by the toilets, kitchen, etc. We have provided "no touch keys" for people using the lift so they don't have to press the buttons, although we have advised everyone to use the stairs if they are able to.

    All teatowels etc have been replaced with paper towels and we are asking people to bring pre-prepared food from home or eat outside the office (i.e. no food prep going on in the kitchen) and to use their own mug and where possible refillable water bottle rather than cups. Max two people in the kitchen at a time (it's a huge room). We have provided Dettol wipes to wipe down shared things (e.g. kettle, microwave buttons, printer buttons)

    AC is an issue - we've been advised not to use it. We are currently running it first thing in the morning to get an airflow and then turning off when people arrive. There is HSE guidance on this - it depends whether your AC system brings in fresh air or just recirculates (the latter is the problem).
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