Nobody expected that a pandemic would cause significant and drastic changes in our lives today. Coronavirus has been globally spread that almost all our everyday activities are no longer considered normal. Coronavirus changes the way we live, think, and do things. There are restrictions about everything that helps flatten the curve of affected people. We need to look after our health, but we should also be mindful of our surroundings and things around us because it might be a Coronavirus transmission channel. We need to take extra precautionary measures about our environment to minimize the spread of the virus. Work is one of the most affected sectors because of the ongoing pandemic. Proper office furniture choice is highly recommended to protect your employers and your company. OFS furniture is an expert in providing the appropriate selection of office furniture, especially when careful decisions are needed to avoid spreading the virus.
Coronavirus and the workplace
Covid19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered Coronavirus strain, a type of virus known to cause respiratory infections in humans. Person-to-person contact is the most common mode of transmission of the virus. Droplets from coughing, sneezing, and even from saliva could transmit the virus. Besides the droplet transmission from a person to person contact, touching things with these droplets could get you infected by the virus. When touching things, it is essential to always wash or sanitize your hand before touching any part of your body, especially those with an opening like the eyes, ears, and nose as the virus may still be present in your hands. It is also recommended to always clean and sanitize furniture and equipment, before using them to prevent the virus’s spread in your setting. Workplaces should be mindful of these things because they are the ones that are still in function this time of the pandemic. Even though they reduced the workforce, employers should make sure that they choose the right office furniture to prevent their people from catching the virus. OFS interior is your best buddy in selecting the right office furniture ideas amidst of the Pandemic.
Furniture Ideas in consideration with Coronavirus
A lot of consideration is needed before buying new office furniture or setting up a workplace. You need to have a careful and feasible strategy to keep the business going and ensure everyone’s safety in the workplace despite the pandemic.
Here are some ideas that you could do to ensure your workplace’s safety in relation to Covid19.
- Consider space and physical distancing
One of the World Health Organization guidelines is to practice physical distancing and avoid close contact to prevent further transmission of the virus. Even the furniture should be in proper distancing to keep the workers away from each other. If you will buy furniture to decorate your place, choose the office furniture that will be good enough for only one and not take up so much space. Pick office furniture that would allow mobility and provide enough space to keep everything you need in your reach to avoid too much walking, standing that prevent having contact with your workmates. Make sure that when you put your office furniture, align them with the same guidelines with the physical distancing to serve as precautionary measures. Just choose which is enough for one person and her belongings that would not take up an entire space so that there is still room for others despite needing to practice physical distancing.
- Creative signage.
Even though there are limitations in everything we do this time of crisis, creativity is limitless. Make sure that in your workplace, you have enough signages for the safety protocols and guidelines about COVID19. Put some stickers for safety reminders such as “sanitize after opening the door,” or put up posters around the workplace. One idea regarding creating signage is that you can make the floor decals color-coded. For example, suppose a person needs to go to a specific person; they could follow the colored trail that leads to that particular person making it lesser for that person to wander around, thus lessening contact. This, however, is great for big and spacious areas.
- Shield your workspace or try utilizing cubicles
It’s the new trend in restaurants, banks, malls, and almost all establishments to install temporary plexiglass. The plexiglass is used to maintain social distancing in areas where person-to-person interaction is needed. This can be useful in offices, especially if there are times when you need to talk to someone about business matters personally. You can also try using cubicles instead of regular office tables to ensure that you are enclosed in areas and have separated from the others to avoid close contacts. Having plexiglass shields and using cubicles doesn’t only mean valuing a person’s space and privacy but also protecting themselves for a possible transmission if they came to close contact with an infected person.
- Handle free or contact-free furniture
Cabinet, shelves, tables are the most common and most needed furniture in the workplace. Suppose you cannot avoid using a cabinet or a shelf with doors. In that case, it is suggested that each person has one designated door only to them, like in school lockers, to make sure that they are the only ones who are touching and using that specific place in the cabinet.
- Less is more
There are always communal areas like the pantry in an office setting where the coffee maker, kitchen utensils, and refrigerator is present or the reception area where everyone enjoys sitting and catching up. However, as a new norm, it is advised to set up or put up these things per department or cluster or any classification to lessen usage sharing. This is one way of practicing physical distancing and minimizing touching of something touched by the others. For receptions and pantry tables where you and your officemates used to hang out, there should be signs where a person could only sit and leave as a space to maintain less physical contact. Lessening the involvement of employees with one another could help in preventing possible transmission of the virus.
There is no point in arguing with the things we can’t change like the Pandemic. What we need to do now is to adapt to survive this global crisis. Our world and our work shouldn’t stop just because we are afraid to get infected. Yes, it’s normal to feel anxious and normal that’s why safety precautions like physical distancing is always reminded to everyone, especially in workplaces. We don’t know what could happen tomorrow, and we couldn’t just wait and sit because how can we survive this pandemic if we do not work? Proper hygiene, frequent sanitizing, facial masks, or face shields are an individual’s initiative. Appropriate planning ideas about office furniture are the employer’s way of ensuring that their workers are safe and protected under their watch. Everyone needs to cooperate to make tomorrow, brighter and better, and hopefully sooner COVID-free. OFS Interiors can assist you with furniture choices. Reach out to OFS Interiors for furniture and interior design concerns, contact 801.974.1970 or email at [email protected]. If it’s convenient, you may want to visit the site 4753 Holladay Blvd E Holladay, UT 84117. You’ll never regret choosing OFS interiors.
