By Grace Murphy:
Lockdown measures have significantly eased, and the economy is getting back into the swing of things. However, if we want to keep thing good momentum going, then it’s important not to forget about maintaining social distancing. Otherwise, we could be facing a second wave of coronavirus. This is vital for small businesses because they’re the ones who might not be able to survive another lockdown. Therefore, we need some innovative social distancing tips which can help small businesses combat coronavirus and keep the cash flowing. We’ve got 8 great ones right here, so read on to find out what they are.
1) Leaving/Arriving Schedule
It’s difficult to maintain social distancing from your work colleagues when you’re all flooding into the premises at the same time. Therefore, small businesses might want to create a schedule for when everyone arrives and leaves work. Stagger out the times to reduce crowding and prevent there from being congestion in the corridor. This will keep everyone safe, making working in an office more sustainable during the pandemic.
2) Creating Extra Room
One of the biggest problems that small businesses face in light of social distancing is making enough room in the office for everyone to remain two metres apart. This is extremely problematic when your business premises are small. However, managers might be able to create more room by putting some of the unnecessary office furnishings into storage. Companies like Safestore have secure lockups which help you do this. Try to find somewhere you can put away all the extra items as soon as possible.
3) Looking After Workstations
Where you can, keep the same people working on the same workstations. This will prevent different germs to the other employees. You could also assign a time of day for employees to wash down their desks. It’s also worth supplying each member of staff with their own hand sanitiser for their workstation. Place some tape on the floor around the station, too, so employees definitively know where they can and can’t go.
4) Communal Areas
It’s going to be difficult to maintain hygiene and social distance in the communal areas of your business premises, such as the kitchens and bathrooms. Review each of these places and consider what strategies to implement. Perhaps you could only allow one or two people in a room at any given time and tell each employee to wash down whatever appliances they may have touched.
5) Traffic Systems
You could adopt ‘road markings’ for your workplace to control traffic and ensure social distancing. In narrow corridors, introduce a one-way system; in the office, place down markings and arrows which show people what direction they should take whenever they wish to move. Visual aids that demonstrate how much a two-metre distance is are also beneficial.
6) Screens
Inevitably, social distancing isn’t always going to be possible. In these circumstances, we recommend small businesses place screens wherever rules might inadvertently be breached. For example, erecting screens between workstations or bathroom sinks will keep a level of separation necessary for preventing the virus’ spread.
7) Air Circulation
Social distancing is important because coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets which people spray from their mouth and nose. These droplets can remain suspended in the air, long after they’ve been expelled from a person’s body. As such, small businesses should invest in methods to increase air circulation and purification – like dehumidifiers, air conditioning and open windows.
8) Sorting Out Rotas
Avoid having everyone in the office and categorise employees into households. Only have employees from the same household in on the same days. This will reduce how many people are being infected.
These are some innovative tips for social distancing that small businesses might not have thought of before. See if you can come up with a couple of others yourself.
