How do you social distance, when the distance isn't an option?

At ARx, we’ve worked closer with our clients than ever before. 2020 and the pandemic has demanded a different way of consulting our business connections on hiring and recruitment strategy in a way that hasn’t been seen before.

As part of our ongoing recruitment support, a number of our clients have decided (in line with government advice) to go back to their offices and re-introduce the staff to working from their respective sites. All of this is being done with the greatest care and attention to their employee's health and safety. One of the questions that have come up a great deal is what can you do if your office doesn’t have the space for social distancing. 

Rather than independently advising each client, we have received this question 7 or more times and though that was enough a reason as any to produce a quick answer for what can be, a far more complicated situation.

Part (1) – The Government Standpoint

The Government has remained somewhat vague on this topic, as there has to be a certain level of common sense to the situation. They’ve left it that “if you can go to work, go to work”. Reading from this, if you can layout your office in a safe way so that people can maintain a 2m social distance, and avoid physical contact with others, then definitely do that, but if you can’t then maintain the home working side of things.

As this is government advice and not legislation, there is some wiggle room, but it’s important to use common sense when it comes to this. If you have a small office, and it’s full of people then the likelihood of it being safe for 100% of the staff to return to the office is very low and could lead to a quick spread of the virus if someone becomes infected. If this is your situation see Part (2) on solutions for smaller offices.

However, just having a big office won’t be the only solution to your problems. See Part (3) for the Big Office Paradox.

Part (2) – Solutions for Smaller Offices

In all of this crisis and pandemonium, it is easy to forget that not every business making it’s way back to the office is a larger one. We asked one of our business associates what their advice would be, coming from the healthcare profession, on what our clients can do if they only have a small office, and it is relatively packed already. He gave this advice:

·       Try operating a 50 on / 50 off shift policy – so that your workforce spend half the time at home and half the time in the office, and it allows for everyone to get the office face time they need. By having half the office in, you can ensure a desk between each person giving you the required social distance you need

·       Try a “compulsory only” policy – prioritise those people that MUST be in the office to do their jobs, and then bring the others back when the virus is more under control. This allows those that need to be in the office to work, the freedom to do so, whilst also allowing those that don’t, the ability to stay working safely from home

·       Find temporary premises – If the company is cash-rich, and has the ability to do so, try renting some temporary desk space for the time being in a We-Work or Regus. Provided these places re-open with a social distancing policy in place already, it is headache free for you and your team and gives you large square footage to keep apart. This is only really an option short term as this will become a big cash drain if you are also maintaining your other offices on the side.

Part (3) – The Big Office Paradox

This is a trap that a lot of our clients fell into in the first instance. At ARx we work with multiple blue-chip companies on their global PSLs, and as such their gleaming fortresses of glass and steel seem like the perfect place to exercise global distancing with all their added floor space and break rooms, but seemingly people forget about the flow of traffic around the building, and the bathroom situation. 

For this, we asked an expert advisor at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies on the planet, what she proposed would be wise for bigger companies to do to ensure safety when coming back to work. Here are her suggestions:

·       Create one-directional traffic flow – No, not Harry Styles dressed as a lollypop man. More like an IKEA inspired arrow system like you undoubtedly would have seen in the supermarkets of late. This will ensure nobody bumps into each other in the corridor

·       Ensure gloves are worn by staff members (particularly for shared spaces like toilets and kitchens) and that there are ample hygiene chemicals available (soap, antibacterial gel, wipes etc) to help keep the germs at bay

·       Ensure people are sat one desk apart to abide by social distancing laws (this may mean some desk shuffling, but it would be worth it)

·       Make use of the break rooms by converting them into working areas for the time being, and use some of that “aesthetic” space to allow people to keep apart or as a passing zone so that nobody collides in the corridors

·       Lastly, our expert contact advised that big companies should ensure that the people coming back to the office really need to be there. The more people coming back, is equal to the more people that could spread the virus, and if everyone will be visiting the shops and car showrooms as of 15 June 2020 (as the government has announced), then that is a vast amount of people coming into contact with others that could spread the virus.

Part (4) – Conclusion

In our expert opinion, we think it will be safe for people to return to their offices, but the people in charge do need to put in the effort of making it a safe environment to work in where people are not sharing as many resources etc. between themselves.

Of course, we have shied away from such controversial topics as staying away from 5G towers or eating nocturnal flying creatures, but as you can imagine with professional advice, this can rub people up the wrong way!

In all seriousness, we hope that our clients, their friends and their families remain safe and healthy during this incredibly trying time. We wish you a prosperous and healthy week and if we haven’t done business together before, we hope to be able to welcome you to the family, very soon!