6 things office safety depends on

The last couple of weeks saw us redouble our efforts at Nowy Styl. As an expert in space arrangement, we tried to address the many questions that trouble all those facing the challenge of returning to their offices.

We expanded our knowledge and talked to invited experts, and our Office Inspiration Centre became a genuine film studio where our in-house. Visiting specialists shared their knowledge and guidance in interviews conducted by TV journalist Olimpia Ajakaiye. Outcomes of our work include a report entitled Welcome back... to the office! and a Workplace Safety Puzzles concept, which this publication discusses in more detail.

Every day, more and more companies are taking the decision to return to their offices. The desire to return, however, is being largely cooled by concerns over safety. Indeed: a return to working in the office can be a bad idea if you fail to approach the problem comprehensively, which means not missing any of the six areas of the so-called Workplace Safety Puzzles: • transparent hygiene: availability of appropriate hygiene products and regular disinfection; • distance planning: neatly planned, safe working space for every employee; • preventive products: safety-enhancing items such as plexi walls; • new workplace etiquette: efficient communication of new policies within the company; • supportive management: measures to support employees and managers in the new situation; • visual communication: clear and simple visual communication in the office.

The first three puzzles’ consist of elements strictly related to safety, so they are easier to remember. Things get more tricky with the last three, which many companies forget about, even though they have a key impact on employee morale and sense of safety.

At Nowy Styl, we already returned to our offices a few months ago, but before we did, we had meticulously prepared them and ourselves for the new circumstances. This has given us a first-hand experience of the whole process. Below, we are looking at some pieces of the puzzle mentioned above, that determine a successful return to the office.

You can download the report here:

Faced with the need to return to the office, it is only natural for employees to be afraid. If it was not for fear, people would be likely to take decisions that are dangerous to them. On the other hand, when the emotion appears too often and is too intense it makes performing daily duties difficult, thus causing lower efficiency. It is therefore extremely important for the company to support its employees during that special time. An employer who explains the reasons for his or her decisions and presents further steps to be

taken not only builds a sense of safety, but also promotes relations based on partnership, thus winning employees’ trust.

At the beginning, I mentioned the various measures we have taken at Nowy Styl: interviews, publications and knowledge sharing. Such projects, but directed to the inside of the company, are precisely what the name Supportive Management means. This will include telling people about all initiatives the company has taken to ensure employee safety, sharing reliable knowledge, informing about changes that have been imple mented in the office, as well as new policies in place. Contacting the executive staff, who should set a good example for others, will also be a strategic move. A short video to illustrate the new policies will also help employees comply with them. All the better if the main characters in such a video can be played by people working in the company. A video will be warmly received and remembered if the employees can recognise their work colleagues in it.

Employees should definitely not be returning to an office where nothing has changed. Disinfectants are the absolute minimum, but clear information on where to find them is equally important. A thermometer at the reception desk will certainly be useless if nobody knows it is there in the first place. Also, do not expect employees to keep a safe distance if the number of seats in the kitchen is the same as before. Visual communication is essential to keeping safety. Ideally, it should be used consistently from the very beginning. Then, the employees will get used to it and observing the rules will become their habit. When there is no clear signage, they will quickly forget all the dos and don’ts, and where not to seat.

Introducing visual communication in the office doesn’t have to be time-consuming and costly. Many problems can be solved by using peel-off stickers, putting tape on the floor and placing safety belts across chairs that are out of use. It is also a good idea to have a few posters printed to tell suppliers and external visitors

Architect and TV journalist Olimpia Ajakaiye has conducted a series of interviews on safe return to the office. All materials are available on www.nowystyl.com.

about policies in place at the office. Some information doesn’t need to be printed – for instance the number of people allowed in one meeting room can be displayed on the screen in that room.

The signage in the office is nothing more than a new kind of safety wayfinding, which will accompany your employees every day. Therefore, it should be as intuitive as possible and match the visual communication of the office and the company.

Here, the key word will be distance. These days, hardly anyone considers giving their office space a complete changeover, one that would include installations and walls. When you look at the situation in real terms, you will find you have two scenarios to choose from: you can either put all workstations that don’t keep a safe distance out of use, or you can rearrange the office, so as to keep the required distance of 1.5 m between the work stations. Both solutions have their pros and cons. Putting some furniture out of use is a quick solution and the change itself doesn’t cost much, but it reduces the efficiency of space utilisation. In this scenario, fewer workers can return to work, and the solution seems makeshift in the long run. Rearranging and setting workstations further apart allows you to fully utilise the space and allows more people to return. The office is not filled with empty desks, and those that had to be temporarily removed can be shared with employees who need to work from home but don’t have a comfortable workplace there. This solution has its drawbacks too, such as issues with cabling, which make it more complicated. But at the end of the day, it generates more savings.

The issues raised here offer just a small preview of the report. A full analysis of each element of the Workplace Safety Puzzles can be found in the publication Welcome back... to the office! An astute reader will also find almost 30 exam ples of office spaces redesigned to meet safety requirements in the report. For more materials and the report itself, which is available to everyone, please visit www.nowystyl.com. Finally, we would like to wish all of you that your return to the office proceeds without fear or trouble and, most importantly, in complete safety.

Author:

Communication Specialist, Nowy Styl