As businesses throughout the United States plan a return to the office, the safety of their employees is their top concern. Health officials recommend that only 50 percent of the workforce should return to the office, and the other half should work from home. Those who do return to the workplace in 2021 will face a very different type of office than that one they left a year ago. It will be one without shared spaces, where employees work in self-contained environments protected by various types of barriers intended to shield them from airborne pathogens. Almost every company will need to install room separators in key locations to prevent close contact between employees.
Cubiture wants to make it clear that room separators are one aspect of COVID-19 office safety. They should never be used as replacements for masks, and they should never be used as a replacement for rigorous cleaning of all office surfaces. Portable office partitions serve the purpose of dividing shared spaces into contained, personal spaces. Knowing which dividers to purchase, and where to install them, is essential to employee health and wellness.
Office materials need to be easy to clean throughout the workday. Companies should avoid purchasing any room separators that require special cleaners to disinfect. It is inevitable that the workplace will run out of cleaning supplies from time to time. If partitions can be wiped down with standard cleaners, it is simply a matter of running to the store to restock disinfectants. Cubiture offers a wide range of transparent, translucent, or solid partition walls that can be wiped down with affordable, readily available glass cleaners.
Another mistake we help our customers avoid is purchasing room separators that are too short to provide adequate shielding. Barriers must be tall enough to protect the “breathing zone” around each person. This invisible zone extends 12 inches from a person’s mouth and nose in all directions around his or her face. While shorter partition walls work fine for seated employees, they offer little to no protection once a worker stands up. To create a truly safe space, room separators should measure well over 6 feet in height to protect workers who are moving around the office.
This separation can be achieved without creating a sense of confinement. Room separators do not have to block visibility in order to block germs. Cubiture carries a wide variety of polycarbonate room and cubicle partitions. Polycarbonate is a durable, cost effective alternative to standard glass.
These dividers can be clear, translucent, or opaque, and they come in a spectrum of colors that will complement the dynamics of any office interior design. Because of their deep expertise in office design and décor, Cubiture space planners do more than simply decide where room dividers should go. They help customers choose the right coordinating colors and the appropriate amount of visibility the dividers allow.
Cubiture room separators are also safer to walk around. Many competing dividers rest on stands that extend outward from the wall of the unit. This not only creates an eyesore, but it also creates a trip hazard for anyone standing too closely to the divider. Our room separators are designed to securely stand independently of any protrusions that could hurt employees or scratch adjacent furniture. Low-profile castors and stabilizers provide all the stability our dividers need.
Call Cubiture now to request a free office layout design that will transform your open spaces into attractive, productive, and truly safe workspaces for your returning staff. We’re happy to help.