Is it really safe for a wholesale return to the office?

By Rolfe Jackson, a director of property and construction consultancy, McBains

Last Friday's announcement by Boris Johnson that businesses will have more discretion to bring back staff to workplaces from 1 August if safe to do so will place many employees – and their employers – in an unenviable position.

Firstly, the lockdown has made the majority of workers reluctant to return to the office. According to research commissioned by Bupa, more than two thirds (65%) of employees are anxious about going back to the office environment as lockdown measures are relaxed. With the enforced work-from-home experiment proving a success, why change the emphasis?

Secondly, considering his chief scientific advisor said only the day before there was no reason to change the advice on working from home, many employers will feel the Prime Minister is passing the buck to them on taking the tough decision to ask people to return to work, at a time when fears about a second wave of Covid-19 are increasing.

Nevertheless, this pressure on employers means that in the coming weeks many organisations will shift their focus on enabling more employees to return to the workplace – the issue they’ll be grappling with is how to do it safely. Businesses will also need to plan their Covid-precautionary measures early in order to facilitate a sensible return to the office.

The first thing to think about is air movement. This will become increasingly important when the warm weather ends: in summer, it is simpler to keep offices ventilated with open windows which allow breezes to replenish stale air – in cooler weather mechanical systems will become more important. In London, however, many offices are not able to open windows at all, so mechanical systems may need to be updated now.

For years, offices have been sealing windows shut to improve energy efficiency and just allowing air to recirculate meaning chronically under-ventilated buildings, increasing the likelihood of airborne disease transmission. Offices need to bring more outdoor air into buildings with heating and ventilation systems (or open windows in buildings that don’t) to help reduce airborne contaminants. A 2019 study found that simply ensuring minimum amounts of outdoor air reduced transmission of flu, for example, to the equivalent of having 50-60% of workers vaccinated.

Another problem is that offices tend to use fairly basic air filters – ones with low minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ratings. Typically, these filters capture less than 20% of viral particles: whereas on the other hand hospitals, for instance, use a filter with a MERV rating of 13 or higher which capture more than 80% of airborne viral particles.

For buildings without mechanical ventilation systems, or to supplement a building’s system in high-risk areas, portable air purifiers can also be effective at controlling airborne particle concentrations. Most quality portable air purifiers – those fitted with medical grade HEPA filters – capture 99.97% of particles.

Many offices may already have implemented quick fix measures for reduced contact, such as touch-free hand sanitisers and one-way staircases. But more offices should look at installing more sensor-activated areas, for example digitalised reception areas.

Hot desks should be avoided – and for many employees that will come as a relief as they’re often far from popular anyway. Surfaces need to be made safer: this includes regular cleaning with probiotic sprays, but longer-term the materials used can also make a difference. Using copper, brass and bronze for highly-touched surfaces such as door knobs and lift-buttons can prevent such surfaces from serving as long-standing reservoirs for the spread of pathogenic microbes due to their antimicrobial properties.

One of the most pressing issues for employees is how they will get to work. Nearly nine in 10 employees polled in one survey said they would not be comfortable commuting on public transport at all during the rest of 2020. Employers should, therefore make space, where possible, for bike shelters and showers to encourage cycling to work. Staggering arrival and departure times at work to reduce crowding should also be considered.

Given the importance of making premises Covid-safe, many employers may decide to go down official accreditation routes. The WELL Building Standard, for example, monitors the features of a building to not only safeguard but actively promote health and wellbeing. Administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBITM), it is the first standard that focuses on human health and wellbeing into design, construction and operations of buildings and has been updated to reflect the Covid-19 pandemic.

Whatever course of action employers decide to take, of course, will cost money at a time when employer support packages like the furlough scheme are beginning to be phased out. That’s why, as the British Chambers of Commerce have argued, companies should receive tax breaks for making their offices Covid-secure.

One of the Prime Minister’s justifications for returning to the office was that businesses had stressed the importance of human interaction and face-to-face conversations. If we are going to return to the office then, let’s use this is an opportunity to change the traditional office to benefit not only health and wellbeing but improve the overall ergonomic design of offices. From offering private rooms to allow employees space to think, concentrate better and for taking private calls, to providing larger spaced areas that foster collaboration, employers should start to think about establishing office spaces with different environments to maximise productivity as well as employee wellbeing.