2020 has seen many of you now working from home due to these unprecedented times. Leaving the world of open-plan office behind….

Whilst for some, working from home is a welcome break from the daily commute and like the solitude and the peace to focus on work without distraction, others also like the social aspects of the office. We are social, we like the company of others, no more so than in the office. We thrive on discussion, exchanging ideas and collaborating, however now we have to bring what we have learnt from social distancing in our day to day life during the Covid19 lockdown into the office. Perhaps for some of us this will be the new normal – a balance between working from home and in the office.

Whether we can achieve this balance or whether we want or need to return to the office full time, we will need to feel as safe in the office as we do at home. How can we make that happen?

Working from home and returning to the office after the Covid19 lockdown

Now is the time to rethink the office, to ensure the workplace is productive and safe for staff and customers. Here at Amos Beech we were either working from home or have been furloughed just like most of you. However, the design and fit-out team have been thinking about short, medium and long term solutions for after the Covid19 lockdown, to help you with the preparation for staff returning to the office.

Office layout and occupancy levels

Social distancing in the office follows the same guidelines as out of the office – to avoid unnecessary closeness with others by allowing employees to remain 2m apart. This may mean reducing the number of employees in the office at any given time, so some of your staff need to continue working from home.

To organise this the iotspot ESD desk booking system can be an outcome. The smart workplace platform can be utilised to help with social distancing in anticipation for people returning to work.

Screens between desks and office dividers

In the office we need to minimise disruption by using alternate desks with individuals not directly facing each other and introduce high clear perspex screens between the desks.

Contact the design team for help with your office layout:

Hygiene

In addition to the above, hygiene becomes even more important than it already was. You may for instance need to introduce a clear desk policy, allowing surfaces to be properly cleaned on a daily basis. Also introduce hand wash facilities in tea preps and break rooms and provide hand sanitisers throughout the office, especially at high touch point areas such as near printers, in tea prep and break out rooms, at lifts and entry and exit doors.

Hand sanitiser stations

NanoSeptic Antimicrobial Surface Wraps for Touchpoints

Contact the operations team for more details about hygiene products:

Returning to the office after the Covid 19 lockdown is very much work in progress

For us at Amos Beech the current situation is just as new for us as it is to you, but we are committed to help you return to the office in a safe and pleasant way. Our design team is keeping up to speed as much as possible by attending webinars of the world leading office specialists and operations follow all the latest developments from the office and facilities industry.

In addition to that we have taken the initiative to set up a sharing platform where all involved in the office interiors, facilities and fit-out sector can share ideas and solutions. We advise you to follow this initiative to keep up to date: