#[1]alternate [2]alternate [3]Temperature Checks and Desk Shields:
  C.D.C. Suggests Big Changes to Offices

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Temperature Checks and Desk Shields: C.D.C. Suggests Big Changes to Offices

  If followed, the guidelines would transform the everyday experience of
  employees across the country, from executives to clerical workers.
  Offices at the University of California, Irvine’s infection
  prevention division last month, which has installed sneeze guards
  separating cubicles and encourages mask-wearing and hand-sanitizing.
  Offices at the University of California, Irvine’s infection prevention
  division last month, which has installed sneeze guards separating
  cubicles and encourages mask-wearing and hand-sanitizing.Credit...Alex
  Welsh for The New York Times

  By [11]Matt Richtel
    * May 28, 2020Updated 6:49 p.m. ET
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  Upon arriving at work, employees should get a temperature and symptom
  check.

  Inside the office, desks should be six feet apart. If that isn’t
  possible, employers should consider erecting plastic shields around
  desks.

  Seating should be barred in common areas.

  And face coverings should be worn at all times.

  These are among [12]sweeping new recommendations from the Centers for
  Disease Control and Prevention on the safest way for American employers
  reopening their offices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

  If followed, the guidelines would lead to a far-reaching remaking of
  the corporate work experience. They even upend years of advice on
  commuting, urging people to drive to work by themselves, instead of
  taking mass transportation or car-pooling, to avoid potential exposure
  to the virus.

  The recommendations run from technical advice on ventilation systems
  (more open windows are most desirable) to suggested abolition of
  communal perks like latte makers and snack bins.

  “Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers,
  and bulk snacks, with alternatives such as prepackaged, single-serving
  items,” the guidelines say.

  And some border on the impractical, if not near impossible: “Limit use
  and occupancy of elevators to maintain social distancing of at least 6
  feet.”

  The C.D.C., the nation’s top public health agency, posted the
  guidelines on its website as states are beginning to lift their most
  stringent lockdown orders. Shops, restaurants, beaches and parks are
  reopening in phases. But white-collar office employees at all levels
  mostly continue to work from home, able to function effectively with
  laptops, video conferencing and Slack.

  Image
  The C.D.C. has put out a number of posters to display in offices
  recommending best practices.Credit...Centers for Disease Control and
  Prevention
  Image
  Credit...Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

  Some of the measures are in keeping with what some employers are
  already planning, but other employers may simply decide it’s easier to
  keep employees working from home.

  “Companies, surprisingly, don’t want to go back to work,” said Russell
  Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit
  think tank that studies the region. “You will not see the drum beat and
  hue and cry and rush to get back to the office.”

  Citing extreme examples like Twitter, which has said it may never
  return to corporate office space, Mr. Hancock said that he has heard
  similar things from both Silicon Valley companies and those outside the
  region. Many are planning to stay safe by thinning who is required to
  come to work, along with making plans consistent with the C.D.C.
  guidelines.

  “Incessant disinfecting of surfaces, cleansing out your HVAC,” he said,
  referring to the ventilation system, “opening windows, ventilation, all
  of those things.”

  Tracy Wymer, vice president of workplace for Knoll, Inc., a large
  office-furniture company, who has been in discussions with numerous
  companies about the safest way to reopen, said he agreed with much of
  what the C.D.C. was advising but he added that a big part of successful
  reopening would involve employee compliance.

  “The biggest factor is on the work force and the personal
  responsibility they must take in making this reality work,” he said.

  The C.D.C. addressed that part too, reiterating what has become a kind
  of national mantra: regular hand washing of at least 20 seconds; no
  fist bumps or handshakes; no face touching.

  The C.D.C. recommended that the isolation for employees should begin
  before they get to work — on their commute. In a stark change from
  public policy guidelines in the recent past, the agency said
  individuals should drive to work — alone.

  Employers should support this effort, the agency said: “Offer employees
  incentives to use forms of transportation that minimize close contact
  with others, such as offering reimbursement for parking for commuting
  to work alone or single-occupancy rides.”

  Image Communal gathering spots, like this snack area at the offices of
  Mobify, a startup in Vancouver, British Columbia, are discouraged in
  the new C.D.C. guidelines.
  Communal gathering spots, like this snack area at the offices of
  Mobify, a startup in Vancouver, British Columbia, are discouraged in
  the new C.D.C. guidelines.Credit...Alana Paterson for The New York
  Times

  Smaller companies also have already been discussing how to reopen, some
  with the kinds of ideas the C.D.C. is recommending. But there are
  distinctive challenges in many offices. For instance, those that do not
  have windows that open to the outside, permitting ventilation; have
  little or no access to outdoor space; or are small and open, with floor
  plans that were de rigueur just six months ago and now are verboten.

  Peter Kimmel, the publisher of FMLink, a publication serving the
  facilities management industry, said that the C.D.C. guidelines are “a
  good checklist of what needs to be done.”

  But they also raise numerous questions, he said, including how social
  distancing will work. “This means many fewer workplaces per floor,
  reducing the density considerably. Where will the remaining workers be
  housed? Will the furniture work in the new layout?” he asked.

  “While there are many solutions, these often require substantial
  thought and a budget that likely doesn’t exist,” he said.

  Mobify, a Vancouver-based company with 40 employees that helps build
  digital storefronts for major retailers, moved back into its office
  last week and has already made a number of the changes recommended by
  the C.D.C. The building’s landlord now requires mask use in the
  elevator. Other changes the company made on its own.

  “One person per table. We put arrows on the floor so people will go to
  the restroom one direction and come out the other,” said Igor Faletski,
  the company’s chief executive. “No more shared food. Sanitation
  stations with wipes.”

  At the same time, he said, there may be a larger force at work: the
  impulses of the workers themselves.

  “Since we opened up last week, only five employees have come in,” he
  said. “Because the office is quite big, there was room for people to
  sit in different corners.”

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