While few offices are at the point of being ready for full occupancy once again, the horizon for a full-on return to in-person working is fast approaching – is commercial office cleaning the answer to bringing them back? But before coming back to work on-site in offices, employees need to feel safe and secure about their workspace as a whole. To best address employee concerns, employers need to be mindful about the steps they are taking to get their office into shape before inviting employee back into the space.
They are a number of measures employers can consider, each with its benefits, to instill a sense of safety and health-centered mindfulness in employees who re-enter the office environment, and employers should start preparing as soon as possible to stay up to the speed with the rapid pace of the reopening economy. For the best ways to bring employees back into the office, consider implementing these standards, adjustments, and cleaning updates to the old routines.
Commercial Office Cleaning Starts in the Physical Space
Prior to the pandemic, most employers were focused on implementing open-office concepts that cut down on individual offices and grouped employees close together in tight coworking spaces. Now, employers need to take a step back and reconsider if these configurations are the best choice for employees.
Particularly to address employees more hesitant to return, employers need to consider reconfiguring their desk and table layouts and assignments to be more mindful of social distancing standards. Providing adequate space in between office seating will encourage employees to maintain the same safe distance standards that have become so commonplace over the last year. Installing physical barriers between spaces may be helpful, as well, though this should be balanced against the need for employee interaction, as a sight barrier will discourage employee in-person collaboration.
Signage and Information
Open communication is key to gaining and retaining employee confidence. Management should align on messaging, and be transparent in their communications about reopening efforts, and measures being taken to prepare the office space. This helps both set and temper employee expectations, and cuts down on potential for rumors and misinformation.
Employers should also ensure proper signage outlining safety and health guidelines in the office are hung in common, easily-accessible areas around the office space. This way, employees will be well-informed about the expectations within the workspace and will have a direct resource to reference should they ever be confused about or forget one of the in-office policies.
Don’t Forget the Masks
An extension of open communication is addressing whether employees will be expected to wear masks throughout the working day while in the office, or not. Guidance on the subject is still rapidly changing, and individual workplaces and stores are still choosing whether or not to direct both employees and customers to wear masks before entering or conducting business indoors. Whichever direction is chosen, the choice should be consistent and communicated early on, so employees are informed well in advance of showing up to the office in person and being surprised.
Scheduled Cleaning and Disinfection is Only Part of Commercial Office Cleaning
No matter what, employers should be stepping-up their commercial office cleaning routines to ensure that their office and working spaces are consistently clean, disinfected, and free from bacterial and viral agents. However, as we have addressed before, there is such a thing as too much cleaning. To avoid falling into the routine of dousing an office in harsh chemicals that could end doing more harm than good, consider an alternative disinfection solution that leads to protection from bacteria for longer — MicrobeCare™.
A proprietary agent that is applied using a unique process, MicrobeCare™ bonds to the surface it is treating, creating a longer lasting barrier as it coats the surface it is applied to, forming a molecular link through a mechanical mode of action. Once this barrier is formed, it draws in microbes and pathogens using positively-charged nitrogen, puncturing and rupturing the offending microbes with a long carbon chain. Because of the unique bonding process, antimicrobial coatings are effective for much longer than typical disinfectants, lasting for 6 months rather than a few hours or days from typical commercial cleaning cycles.
Provide employees with a thoroughly cleaned, prepped, and prepared office as they ease back into the routine of in-person work. Increase the effectiveness of commercial office cleaning while reducing the frequency and invasiveness of cleaning, and lowering the risk of greater exposure to chemical cleaners. Reach out to Clean Technologies today to see how our services can help protect your workplace from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today!
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