2020 has really changed the way that people view working. A lot of those with office jobs have been forced to work from home, amounting to over 1/3 of the working population earlier in the year. That’s proven to be a benefit for some employees and a hindrance for others, with the latter eager to get back into the office.

For that to happen, though, public workspaces need to be considered safe enough to return to. If you’re wondering how offices can achieve that, we’ve got a few suggestions here which should make things clear.

Do A Deep Clean

If you know that your workforce is going to return on a certain date, it’s a good idea to do an office deep clean before that day. After all, who knows what stuff has built up since the last time everyone was there. By decontaminating everything, you can assure people that being back in the office isn’t going to make them ill. Of course, once everyone is back at work, you then have to ensure that the office maintains this good level of hygiene. The effects of that deep clean won’t last long once there are employees everywhere.

Clean The Vents

When people think about cleaning, they always focus on what they can see. However, you have to do more than wipe down surfaces if you want somewhere to be safe enough to work in. The air around us is full of germs and pollutants that are invisible to the eye, so it’s vital to deal with them if people are going to return to work. A good way to do this is to keep windows open fairly frequently, although that’s not always ideal in winter. If there are vents, cleaning these is also essential, because the last thing you want is them pumping out contaminated air all the time. For any rooms that don’t have windows, pots of baking soda could help to eliminate musty odours and any potential unpleasantness they may cause to people’s health.

Buy Cleaning Supplies

The best way to ensure that an office is safe enough to work in is to stock up on all the necessary cleaning supplies. If you always have the means to decontaminate surfaces and promote good employee sanitation, then the risks of illness spreading go right down. There’s a lot you’ll need to stock up on to make the office as safe as possible, including hand sanitiser, surface wipes, and even hand towel dispensers. If you’re looking for somewhere that you can buy all this stuff in one go, Galleon Supplies has you covered. They’ve been keeping businesses clean for 50 years, so you can trust them to make your office hygienic enough for workers to return.

Promote Social Distancing

There are two words that people are probably sick of hearing together after this year – social distancing. However, in light of everything that’s happened this year, this is necessary for the promotion of a safe working environment. If an office is to be considered worth returning to in the near future, it has to be laid out in a way where social distancing is possible. That means rearranging desks so they’re not all grouped up together, as well as limiting the amount of walking around that’s allowed. It depends on the size of the company, as well as the size of the office, as to how easy this will be to achieve. If the number of employees is too high to safely social distance, this next point may be essential.

Allow Flexible Working

Flexible working is something that’s been on the rise in recent years. The ability to have more control over what hours they work and where they do it has been advantageous for many employees, with over 4 million people working flexibly. That figure will undoubtedly increase a lot after this year, which could make it easier to keep offices clean and safe. If people have the choice to work from home or start at different times, it’s likely that the office will never be at full capacity. That creates more space for people to keep their distance. Plus, it means that employees can easily work from home if they’re not feeling 100%, thereby avoiding the spread of germs.

Ensure Everyone Does Their Part

If there’s something that we’ve learned from 2020, it’s that we’re all in this together. The only way we can truly make things safe again is for everyone to do their part in keeping things hygienic. In terms of office spaces, that means ensuring that all employees follow the necessary protocols and keep their workspaces in good condition. Having people wipe down their desks at the end of every day is a smart idea, as well as ensuring that they clean up after themselves whenever they go somewhere, like the kitchen or bathroom.

We never thought that working in an office would terrify people, but the events of 2020 have changed how some employees perceive such an environment. Hopefully, though, these cleaning tips will ease everyone’s worries and prove that offices aren’t something to be feared.