THE NEW NORMAL: Back to work tips you need to implement today

With the world preparing to get back to work, its time to prepare our offices and work areas for employees to re-enter in a healthy way. As a team of Interior Designers that focus on creating award-winning workspaces, we want to make sure your space also functions well, feels great, and is a positive expression of your culture.

We've assembled this visual guide to help you see our recommended updates and how they can easily be implemented in your space.

First, here's a quick cheat sheet of our top 10 tips

Since we are visual learners, we like to use imagery to help showcase our recommendations.

Below is a before and after image of an actual open office 'bullpen' style work area that we designed for a leading financial firm in San Diego. The sit-to-stand desks had lower frosted glass partitions dividing each desk area that moved up and down along with the desk to keep each work area self-contained. This layout worked really well for them and maximized both the number of employees in a space as well as the potential for collaboration.

The AFTER image shows how we used the same furniture, but added modern partitions that help to not only divide the desk space but also the seated area for each employee. This is vitally important, since most add-on panels you will see only separate the actual desktop space, which means anytime an employee sits back in their chair, they would be exposed to neighbors seated too close to their own space.

The modern partitions we are recommending are great because they are:

• Affordable
• Movable & reconfigurable
• Come in various heights and widths to fit any space
• Can be designed with features like whiteboard areas, acoustical partitions or see-through panels that allow for natural light
• Can incorporate logos, slogans, or images of your brand
• Definitely are NOT the ugly panels from years past!

See for yourself:

We are showing additional items that we recommend to help make the space feel as good as it looks such as:

• Living plants that help naturally filter the air and make the space more vibrant & alive
• Hand sanitizer stations in convenient locations

Without compromising our clients' great open office layout, we've developed a safe and effective solution that still maximizes space while making sure that employees feel both physically and psychologically safe & supported.

Of course, there are many unique office layouts and each team and company has it's own unique culture and work style, so this layout won't work for every environment, but no matter what your floorplan looks like, we can develop a solution that will work for you.

Right now, we are offering a FREE, no-obligation call to chat about your needs and how we may be able to help.

You can learn more and download the entire article with all of the detailed recommendations by visiting our website at www.sdOfficeDesign.com or sending an email to [email protected] and I'll be happy to send it to you!

Tamara Romeo is the Design Boss and CEO of San Diego Office Design, an award-winning commercial interior design firm that specializes in workspace design and furniture. Follow Tamara here on LinkedIn. Schedule a free 15-minute no-obligation call to discuss your needs by clicking here. Thanks for reading all of the way to the very end :)