How to Keep Your Office Sanitized
In this time of COVID-19 and with the cold and flu season about to begin, keeping your office sanitized is more important now than ever before. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to keep your office sanitized and employees healthy. Having hand sanitizer dispensers placed around the office is an easy way to keep your office clean, and another key way is to clean office common areas multiple times throughout the day. One of the biggest ways to keep your office sanitized is to promote safe guidelines for both you and your employees to follow.
1. Have hand sanitizer available for usage.
To keep your office sanitized, you should have hand sanitizer available for usage. While you may not have enough hand sanitizer so each employee has their own bottle, you can simply place the hand sanitizer in key areas throughout the office so everyone has access to it. Allowing employees to have access hand sanitizer is one of the easiest ways to keep your office sanitized and employees healthy.
2. Place occupancy limits in common areas.
In common areas, you should place occupancy limits to keep with social distancing guidelines. Whether in the conference room or in the breakroom, employees should still be 6 feet apart, and if you have an open-air environment, you should stagger seating so employees can safely sit at their desks. By placing occupancy limits in common areas, you are keeping your office safe by giving employees enough space to safely move around.
3. Regularly clean common areas throughout the day.
Similar to how common areas should have occupancy limits, common areas should also be cleaned several times a day. Common areas like the breakroom, bathrooms, and conference rooms will receive usage from multiple employees so it’s important to have these areas cleaned throughout the day so germs will be reduced. In addition to common areas, it’s also important to regularly clean objects like door handles, copiers, kitchen counters, and the coffee machine. If it’s an object or area where multiple employees use, they should be cleaned several times throughout the day.
4. Ensure you are cleaning with the proper supplies.
No matter how often you clean, your cleaning efforts will be futile if you aren’t cleaning with the proper supplies. For example, hand sanitizer should contain at least 60% alcohol. You should also have cleaning supplies (ex. disinfecting spray and wipes) available to employees so they are able to clean their desk areas and common areas that they use.
5. Allow employees the chance to WFH if they are feeling sick.
One of the easiest ways to keep your office sanitized is to encourage employees to work from home if they feel sick or have been exposed to someone who is now sick. If sickness is a possibility, employees can work from home and avoid exposing the entire office until they are certain it is safe for them to go back into the office. By allowing employees to work from home, you are helping keep your office safe while ensuring employee productivity is still met.
6. Have employees wear face masks when moving around the office.
Wearing a face mask is key to preventing the spread of germs, and it should be mandatory that employees wear their face masks when moving around the office. Unless they are sitting at their desk, employees should have a face mask on, especially when they are in common areas. With COVID-19 and the flu, you should discourage employees from eating lunch or snacks together, and you should remind employees taking breaks together outside doesn’t reduce the need for their wearing a face mask.
Keeping your office sanitized is important because it keeps your employees healthy and allows them to continue working. If employees feel sick or have been exposed to someone who is sick, you should allow them the opportunity to work from home so the entire office doesn’t have to be exposed. By taking proactive steps to keep your office clean, you are helping your company be successful.
