During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trellis, a Herman Miller-certified dealer and office space creator, has been working with area business owners to create workplace solutions that allow their employees to collaborate and interact safely and effectively while in the office or while at home.
Trellis’ designers are evaluating the business goals and objectives of several West Michigan businesses to create safe work environments while adhering to new safety measures.
“For many businesses, the workplace has changed significantly over the past four months as employers take steps to reopen safely amid a pandemic. That means overhauling how we used to work pre-COVID-19,” said Will Payne, vice president of design at Trellis. “Whether it’s upsizing or downsizing to a new office space, reconfiguring an existing space or developing a home office program, we have the tools and resources to help business owners support their employees’ work performance needs while keeping them safe and healthy.”
Trellis is offering businesses free consultations with its office design team to help organizations work through returning to work during these challenging COVID-19 times.
“A lot of people just don’t know where to start. With so much information coming out, it’s hard to distill that down to how it applies to your environment,” Payne said. “Our team is positioned perfectly to help you create a plan to adjust your space and accommodate for safe working conditions.”
The notion of working from home and virtual meetings became an instantaneous demand amid the pandemic. It was an eye-opener for some employers who previously believed working from home was counterproductive.
With that in mind, Trellis recently rolled out its new corporate home office program, which allows businesses to not only build remote office spaces and specific packages that fit any work style but also purchase products at scale, allowing access to contract pricing for deep discounts.
Trellis’ furnishings are geared toward anyone in any industry, including health care, manufacturing, education, C-Suite business executives and commercial services. With unobtrusive installations that take about 30 minutes or less, the team at Trellis can transform any makeshift office space into a fully-functioning and ergonomic home office with all the proper tools to perform today’s modern tasks.
“Like it or not, working remotely — either part or full time — is going to be a mainstay in the business world for the near and distant future,” Payne said. “While some employees are back at their office desks, business owners should plan for the possibility of having to go back to strictly working from home.”
For those who have returned or are planning to return to their brick-and-mortar office buildings, new safety policies and protocols are most likely in place designed to maintain a safe and healthy work environment, such as:
- Reconfigured work stations to support additional space in between employees — at least 6 feet apart.
- Repositioned office furniture — tables and chairs — to remain at least 6 feet apart.
- Elimination of shared workstations (hoteling).
- Elimination of office and desk clutter that collects dust.
- Shields or separators in between close-contact employee workstations.
- One-way or two-way circulation paths that allow for proper distancing when passing in corridors.
- Additional hand sanitizing and PPE stations.
- Daily desk disinfecting regimens.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for business owners in this COVID-19 world. The Centers for Disease Control and Protection guidelines for businesses vary based on the type of work setting (office, manufacturing, etc.) However, as this cultural change in the business world continues to evolve, we too, have to evolve the way we work while staying safe.
“The world we live in is now a different place where face masks, social distancing and aggressive sanitizing protocols are part of our new everyday culture. We need to remain vigilant and nimble as the COVID numbers continue to fluctuate,” Payne said. “This pandemic is not going away anytime soon. But let’s be proactive in how we work. Let us, at Trellis, guide you through creating a productive and safe workspace for your employees so they feel safe and comfortable at work — wherever that may be.”
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