Covid-19 has forced the majority of companies particularly those that function in offices to find alternate ways for their employees to work if they want to keep their businesses running. As a result, in order to comply with stay-at-home orders the vast majority of the population that once worked in an office setting is now working from home. Even healthcare professionals that typically practice in clinics are now doing a significant portion of their appointments from home via phone or video calls, only going into the clinic to assess patients when clinically indicated.

The rise of this pandemic has changed the way we view work and how we work, arguably for the better. For businesses there is the realization that work still gets done if employees aren’t crammed into the office of a high-rise building, productivity is still optimal and if anything attendance has improved.  For the individual worker, there is more time for sleep even if it’s only 30minutes because now, they don’t have to commute, they see their families more, there is the ability for more work-life balance and therefore overall more job satisfaction. Ultimately, what many of us have now that we were lacking before is balance. Work in our society tends to trump everything; kids, partners, friends and religious commitments but what adapting to this new normal has shown is that that doesn’t have to be the case at all. It has shown us there ARE other ways of working without feeling like a participant in the never-ending rat-race of life.

Mind you this is not to say that everybody just loves working from home and that it’s easy because it’s not. It can actually be quite distracting and unproductive if conditions aren’t ideal and this is where co-working spaces come in. Once the world reopens, many businesses will be functioning at some level of loss. In order to cut costs and recover what was lost during the height of the pandemic, continuing to encourage employees to work from home would be ideal as it significantly reduces operational costs associated with running an office.

If businesses are looking to restructure where and how their employees work, with the added option of not necessarily being at home, co-working spaces provide a practical option for them without any long-term commitments. It gives employees a space to work away from home should they choose to with all of the capabilities and functions that a traditional office has.

Aside from the business now that it is clear that we are more than capable of still getting down to business without sacrificing everything else in our lives, it is likely that many employees, especially those with young families will be looking for the companies they serve to provide more flexible options when it comes to where and how they work.

We still have a ways to go before things go back to any level of normal, but with growing talks of the economy reopening we a geared at ready to service the influx of members ready to return to work and adapt to their new normal. The last recession saw the development of some of the most prominent businesses today such as What’s App and Uber. At BriteSpace we look forward to providing services and workspace needed for the next startup to launch the next big thing!

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STAY HOME, STAY HOME, STAY HOME

This seems like an obvious solution but for many, but it isn’t.  According to a study done at Queen’s University, approximately 1 in 5 individuals ignore cold and flu symptoms. We live in a culture where go-go-go is celebrated and those that give in to being sick and take days off to recover are looked down on. But staying home when sick is not only for personal benefit and giving your body the time it needs to recover but also for the benefit of those around you. What we are so clearly seeing now with the spread of Covid-19 is that illness affects different people in a variety of ways. What may be tolerable for you, could mean a trip to the hospital or worse for someone else. Therefore, when at all possible stay home, rest, watch movies, and practice self-care, for the sake of yourself and others. Employers need to support and encourage employees to stay home when sick. They can also lead by example, staying home when they feel unwell themselves. Still, this is not always feasible, employers can’t force people to stay home and co-working spaces can’t stop members from accessing facilities because they are sick.  Leading us to number 2…..

Wash Your Hands

About 80% of common infections are spread by the hands. This is expected considering that our hands come into contact with virtually everything around us. But germs don’t actually enter our body through our hands, they are just the carriers. What makes us sick is when the hands that we’ve used to touch or pick up objects, in turn, pick up germs and then we rub our eyes, eat, or put those same unwashed hands in our nose. Germs then have a direct line into our bodies. Washing our hands at least five times a day significantly reduces the risk of picking up viruses like the flu. Educating people on how to wash their hands has also proven to reduce the spread of illness by 16-21%. In-office bathrooms, businesses can post reminder signs for hand washing. Public Health Ontario provides printable posters with a diagram of the proper way to wash hands for your convenience!

Cover your mouth when coughing

Come on, this one is obvious. Just a reminder, do not cough into your hands if at all possible, cough into a tissue and then throw it into the trash, or the inside of your elbow. If you must cough into your hands, then you know what to do…WASH THEM!

For business owners, it is important to have adequate facilities for staff, patrons and members to wash their hands. Where possible sanitizer stations are also useful to encourage hand hygiene.

Wipe Down Frequently Touched Surfaces

In the office, these would be things like printers/copiers, fax machines, keyboards, kitchen appliances etc. In the co-working space where one desk and its contents may be used by multiple people in one day and especially during the week, owners can introduce a cleaning schedule between members to ensure the work area is cleaned and ready for use by the next person. Providing easy access to sanitation wipes also means that members can clean their work area before and/or after using it. 

Reduce Cross-Contamination

Cross-contamination is a significant contributor to the spread of germs. Whether it is from touching contaminated surfaces with bare hands or wiping multiple services with the same cloth. A way to reduce this spread in the office would be to colour code cleaning materials and solutions for different areas of the office. For example, bathrooms cleaned with only blue cloths and matching solutions, desks cleaned with yellow cloths and related solutions etc. This way bathroom germs are not being carried from one area of the office to another. For spaces that have a kitchen, change tea towels, sponges and other cleaning supplies regularly. It is also important to ensure that proper cleaning solutions for dishes are available. Using a dishwasher where possible is also ideal as this allows dishes to be washed at sanitized at high heat to kill germs and bacteria. 

Ultimately there is only so much that can be done to minimize the spread of illness in the office but these few steps above can have a significant impact and are all practical and inexpensive. So if you haven’t already done so, take the time to evaluate how and what your office is doing to contribute to the health and wellness of its occupants. Update your health and safety manual to account for cleaning and response to viruses in the office. If you do not have a manual make one. Ensure to include an adequate cleaning schedule for all areas of the office to coincide with the level of traffic through your office. For offices such as co-working spaces with high traffic of users on a daily basis, daily cleaning and regularly scheduled deep cleaning is important. The spread of Covid-19 is truly an unprecedented time for our generation but with the proper steps, we can learn from this situation and move forward positively!

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One thing for certain is that this pandemic has exposed some not so acceptable cleaning and sanitation practices for many businesses. And once we return to some level of normalcy, businesses in particular will not be out of the woods. Patrons and employees a-like will be expecting certain standards to remain, particularly out of fear of the unknown happening again. This is why it is important for business owners to take this pandemic as an opportunity for learning, growth and improvement when it comes to their sanitation and cleanliness standards. It is the expectation for businesses in the food and health industry to maintain a very strict level of cleanliness and hygiene, however, businesses that do not provide these services are not held to the same standards. Still, this does not mean that it is any less important. Businesses would do well to develop a health and safety protocol that specifically details expectations and standards for sanitation to help minimize the spread of germs in the workplace. 

Workplaces significantly contribute to the spread of viruses such as Influenza due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the large number of individuals working in close quarters makes in difficult to practice any level of adequate social distancing when unwell. Viruses such as influenza are most commonly spread through respiratory droplets ie. sneezing and coughing. In an office environment, especially one that is open concept, these behaviours allow droplets to be released into the air in the form of aerosol and free to land on a variety of surfaces. 

Secondly, high traffic areas and frequently used equipment are not always cleaned often enough to minimize transmission between persons. According to the WHO Influenza viruses can live up to 24 to 48 hours on hard, non porous materials and up to 12 hours on plastic. In an office this would be things like the desk, keyboard, pens, phones, fax machine and kitchen/lunchroom appliances. 

Thirdly, we live in cultural environment that is not very supportive of individuals staying home when unwell. Although many companies offer paid personal sick days and the government has also mandated sick leave for all individuals whether paid or unpaid, employees continue to drag themselves to work either out of fear of being questioned or looked down on by their employer or simply because they cannot afford it. For small business owners taking time off from work could lead to a significant loss in earnings or even loss of business. 

Co-working spaces are not immune to these issues, so then what can be done to help reduce the spread of illness in this type of environment? Look out for our next article where we will discuss tips for both co-working owners and their patrons on how to keep viruses at bay in the co-working space. 

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