With healthy and safety on people’s mind globally, office safety needs to be prioritised so that you can be safe to work.
Standard recommendations for keeping yourself healthy in the office include:
● Regular hand washing
● Covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing
● Avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
However, in this article, we are focusing on office health measures you can incorporate into your business. These low-cost measures below will help prevent the spread of infections in your workplace and protect your customers and employees.
Install Sanitizer and Provide PPE
Provide sanitizer and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks across the office. Make sure it’s accessible and everyone knows where to find both in order to lower the risk of spreading germs.
By doing this, you are signalling to all your visitors that you expect your office to be clean and germ-free so that both employees and visitors can feel safe.
Make sure these items are regularly refilled too!
Enforce Mask-Wearing (Shops)
Especially important for businesses that require in-person interactions such as the food & service industry. Employees must wear masks at all times when dealing with customers to ensure everyone is safe.
Also, shops should have signage outside of the shop enforcing mask-wearing, sanitizing and temperature checking before allowing a customer to walk in.
Keep Doors Open When Possible
It’s always good to have air circulation in your office, but what helps is less contact with door handles. High touch surfaces like doorknobs or handles are a breeding ground for germs.
If require privacy, do close the door, but just remember to sanitize your hands and door handles after touching.
Clean Desks and Equipment Often
Our desk is home to some of the dirtiest and most germ-ridden surfaces you come into contact with. We recommend cleaning and disinfecting every day at the start and end your workday.
Make sure to wipe down your equipment with disinfectant wipes and use soap water for flat surfaces.
Equipment and accessories to clean include
● Keyboards
● Computers
● Laptops
● Mouses
Clean Other High Touch Surfaces
Germs can live on these surfaces for more than 24 hours. It’s important to clean the surfaces with soapy water or cleaning spray and use appropriate disinfectant (wipes or sprays) to kill leftover germs on the surfaces.
High-touch surfaces include:
● Door Knobs/Handles
● Light Switches
● Countertops
● Toilets, Faucets and Sinks
● Tables & Chairs
Social Distancing Measures In The Office
For businesses who require on-site employees, social distancing is required.
Methods to consider for social distancing:
● Limit the number of people in one room/area at a time (Meeting room, Pantry & etc)
● Keeps visitors to a minimum unless it’s absolutely necessary.
● Keeps 1-meter distance between each person.
Provide Signage & Posters Around The Office
Display posters promoting things like hand-washing, good respiratory hygiene, cleaning recommendations & social distancing should be reminded often. Get posters & signage to keep everyone mindful of safety.
You can ask your local public health authority for these or you can design your own too! It’s always good to remind people to take care so that everyone can be safe.
Have A Plan For If An Infection Happens
Brief your employees, contractors, and customers that if they have a fever or are coughing to stay home.
Keep promoting the message that people should stay at home even if they have only mild symptoms. Do use all communication channels available to you to remind your employees, customers and contractors of this.
Communication channels include
● Social Media
● Project Management Tools such as Asana & Trello
● Message Groups
Conclusion
It’s never too late to prepare your workplace. Simple precautions and planning can make a big difference, taking action now will help protect you, your customers, employees and the business.