Helping office workers get ‘back to business’ post lock-down
After what has felt for many like a long lockdown period, office workers are gradually being allowed to return to their work environments. While the requirement to work from home during lockdown meant many workers had to adjust to new working practices, the return to offices will also be a period of adjustment. It will be some time before office life returns to the normality that workers knew before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The new normality of office life must accommodate vital measures that continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the wellbeing of staff and visitors. It’s likely that this will include staggered start and finish times and different teams or departments alternating between working at home and in the office to limit the number of workers in office buildings to allow for social distancing.
However, there are certain measures that both employers and employees must undertake to protect themselves and others. Clearly communicating safety guidelines will be essential to ensuring staff are aware and reminded of their responsibilities to maintain a safe distance as well as required hygiene practices.
Cultivating a safe workspace
Signage in a variety of different formats will be key when it comes to optimising office space for post-lockdown life. This will include directional signage and floor stickers controlling the flow of people into buildings and through communal areas. Signage must also be put in place to communicate the maximum capacity of people allowed in lifts and to request they use the stairs where possible.
Communal areas such as meeting rooms, conference rooms, kitchens and bathrooms will also require signage to control the number of people using each area at the same time as well as notices reflecting increased cleaning rotas.
Most importantly, workers will need to be reminded at every opportunity to practice social distancing, wash their hands, use hand sanitiser, and wear face masks where necessary. This can be achieved with strategically placed notices and floor stickers marking where it is safe to sit and stand.
Posters and updated staff handbooks can also be issued to reflect new and temporary workplace policies relating to the pandemic. Staff who are anxious about returning to work can be reassured with signage explaining the risk assessments that have taken place and the measures implemented to make the office safe.
On-demand Signage for safety
Being able to print in different sizes and formats on demand will help office-based businesses display the relevant information quickly and effectively. It will also allow them to quickly adjust visual communications as and when government guidance is updated, which could happen regularly given the unpredictability of the pandemic.
This can be made possible with an A3 colour printer that can print everything from 1.3m banners to posters and self-adhesive floor and window stickers on top of everyday office printing capabilities. OKI’s multi-award winning C800 Series is a do-it-all device that has the compact footprint of a standard A3 printer with unrivalled media handling flexibility; perfect for businesses that want to do more from one device.
Being able to cover all print requirements from an office printer also reduces the cost and eliminates the lead times a business faces by using third-party print suppliers.
Free social distancing signage and artwork to help businesses re-open
OKI is helping to remove the hassle of sourcing and implementing such signage by offering free* social distancing media and artwork in partnership with Floralabels. This initiative allows businesses to quickly and easily create their own self-adhesive floor stickers.
The complimentary designs will help to protect the wellbeing of staff reminding them to keep two metres apart. The floor stickers are available in three formats: a self-adhesive floor circle (285 x 285mm) and rectangular floor banners in two sizes (215 x 900mm and 297 x 1,320 mm).
While many staff will be eager to get back to their workspaces, businesses must ensure that staff remain aware of and adhere to the additional measures put in place to protect them. This can be eased with the ability to print professional quality visual communications in-house and on-demand.
Please note, for information on specific media that should be used with OKI printers for the applications specified on this page, please contact your local certified dealer or contact us.
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