LEGAL & BUSINESS
SCREEN TIME FOR MAKING WORKPLACES COVID-SECURE As businesses set about returning to the workplace, ensuring staff and customer safety and complying with Government guidelines will be a priority. How can screens help businesses quickly adapt their offices and their shop floors to offer protection and peace of mind for all without lengthy and costly reconfiguration issues? Simon Boocock, Managing Director of CRL Europe, takes a look. CRL EUROPE
S SIMON BOOCOCK I S M A N AG I NG DI R EC TO R O F CRL EUROP E
FC&A – JULY – 2020
ince the onset of the global pandemic, businesses have been thrown something of a curveball. All that were deemed non-essential were, of course, forced into closure for many weeks to help stop the spread of the virus, with business owners then having time to begin thinking about how they could open up safely, when the time is right. From those working in offices through to hairdressers, restaurants and shops, all businesses are now faced with a new challenge and having to make changes to the layout of their premises quickly in order to find their feet again as the country eases out of lockdown and towards what many are deeming to be a ‘new normal’. Employee and customer safety is, of course, paramount. But keeping timescales and cost to a minimum to make such changes is also important. After a period of closure for many, businesses will be eager to get their operation up and running quickly 22
for financial reasons, but in doing so, must ensure that their staff and members of the public are confident in returning and that health risks are minimised. While social distancing looks to be here to stay for a while at least, what many people are craving after a long period of isolation is interaction with others. And this is what many working environments thrive on too. Openplan offices are social spaces, retail staff work best when having face-to-face contact with their customers – it’s a way of life that the majority of us don’t wish to change. Many preCOVID business environments are unsuited to the requirements concerning social distancing making changes necessary, but it is important to ensure that, particularly in office settings, the spaces remain places that encourage the sharing of ideas, creativity and cooperation. The challenge; therefore, for businesses is to make their premises COVID-secure in a way that doesn’t compromise on this unnecessarily while keeping everyone safe.
