A healthy office has never been more top-of-mind. As we transition back to working a regular schedule in an office environment, creating a safe space where your employees are comfortable will move us back to previous performance levels. But how do you get there, and where can technology help?

Start with the Basics for a Healthy Office

There are some simple steps you can take to create a healthier environment with very little financial investment. Healthy habits, like the ones we’ve already adopted in our homes, need to be translated to the office. These include hand washing, sanitizing, and maintaining distance. Try to incorporate positive reminders like passing out sanitizing wipes and letting everyone have a few minutes to clean desks, keyboards, phones, and mice, daily. Making cleanliness part of your office routine reminds your staff of the importance of keeping things clean and lets them know that a healthy office is as essential to you as it is to them.

Step up regular cleaning schedules by cleaning staff and focus on shared spaces, like kitchens and conference rooms; this will help mitigate the spread of germs in these spaces. Setting your HVAC system to add extra fresh air to the mix can help push germs out. Encourage individuals exhibiting illness symptoms to go home. Easing their ability to work from home helps them make that transition more seamless. Finally, have a plan if COVID does enter your office and review that plan with your staff.

More Complex Changes, but with an Assist from Technology

Investing in your office may be necessary to ensure your staff remains healthy and comfortable at work. Here is where small steps in tech can reap substantial rewards in maintaining a healthy office.

Some investments that may be worth considering include:

  • Infrared Lighting – the same lights used to sterilize things in medical facilities can be installed in your air handler, significantly reducing particulates in the HVAC system.
  • Air Purifiers – a much simpler version of the above, purifiers can be installed throughout the office to remove particulates from the air even after it’s gone through the HVAC system.
  • Digital Thermometers – purchasing and consistently using them on anyone entering your office space can help eliminate threats before entering the office.
  • AI Cameras – can count people within the building, alert users when someone has entered who shouldn’t, or create an alert when a guest enters the building.
  • Specialized Tech – a new set of specialized technologies are entering the market. Products like the Awair Omni monitor the air quality, saturation levels, humidity, and particulate matter circulating, sending information back to your smartphone, and making suggestions about keeping your environment safe.

One of the biggest things that technology can help with is eliminating touchpoints – or the common areas everyone touches. At home, your employees have probably been wiping down doorknobs and light switches. At the office, instead of regularly cleaning them, you can eliminate them entirely. Doors can have new locks programmed to open automatically when keyfobs or Bluetooth enabled devices are scanned. Upgraded AC systems allow for remote operation via mobile apps. What about the coffeemaker, the blinds, the remote control? All of these items have technology that can eliminate touchpoints.

How Can VirtuWorks Help

No amount of money or effort can protect your office from every danger, but VirtuWorks can help. While our expertise may lie in protecting your data, our goal has always been to give our clients an edge through technology. Today, that edge just looks a bit different. We have AI monitoring that can keep an eye on building capacity or even take temperatures remotely, access controls and keyless entry options, the Awair Omni system, and more. If you’d like to learn how VirtuWorks can help keep your team safe and create a healthy office environment, contact us today.