How Businesses Can Make Their Workplace Safer During the Pandemic

Whitney Marx of interior design business MarxModa shares her tips
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safer workplace
Personal space: Reconfiguring and reorienting furniture helps to keep staff safely distanced. // Photograph courtesy of MarxModa

“While we always suggest consulting a design professional, we understand that might not be possible for every business and definitely want all Michigan companies to make their workplaces as safe as they can,” says Whitney Marx, CEO of local interior design business MarxModa. “Since physical distancing is key, businesses could rearrange their desks so that people are not facing each other, repurpose conference rooms as a private office or single-use space, and remove or label seating as non-usable to make sure people remain 6 feet apart.”

Caution tape and paper signs can help employees remember to keep their distance.

Designating a “COVID-19 team lead” to help enforce rules and cleaning schedules can also be beneficial as people adjust to new changes. In terms of cleaning, “businesses could remove any small accessories like pillows, remove shared office supplies like staplers, and tape off any soft furniture that may not be bleach cleanable,” Marx says.

Workstations arranged back-to-back in groups of four guarantee employees don’t face one another. If that’s not possible, Marx recommends staggering employees and only using every other workstation.

“For smaller lounge areas, using mobile furniture that can be spaced as needed works well,” she says. “Conference rooms can have set capacity limits with chairs taped off or removed to help enforce distancing.”

Additionally, she recommends virtual solutions. “If possible, use technology to hold meetings virtually, even with teammates who are in the same building, to avoid physically gathering as a group.” 

For more information on MarxModa, visit marxmoda.com