Don’t invite COVID to the office

There’s something not right about your new officemate. You smile and try to be nice, but even a simple handshake leaves you with a bad feeling. Who is this new, annoying co-worker? It’s COVID. Truth be known, COVID doesn’t even work. It showed up uninvited with one mission: to make everyone sick. How can you prevent this unwelcome interloper from infecting your workplace? Keep your distance, wear a mask, wash your hands and avoid large gatherings.

Tips to make your office safer for everyone

• Wear a cloth face covering to contain respiratory droplets and to help protect yourself and others.
• Maintain social distancing among employees. Keep workstations six feet apart. If social distancing isn’t an option, install transparent shields or physical barriers.
• Stagger shifts, start times and break times to reduce the number of employees in common areas.
• Keep employee areas clean and disinfected. Clean high-touch surfaces, such as door handles, desks and light switches, daily and more frequently, if possible.
• Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots and bulk snacks, with pre-packaged, single-serve items. Encourage staff members to bring their own coffee and water and to avoid group meals.
• Limit seating in public areas. Use signs, tape marks or other visual cues to keep visitors, clients and customers distanced.
• Open windows and use portable high-efficiency HEPA filtration systems, especially in higher-risk areas. Consider other options to improve ventilation systems in the building, as well.
• Work from home whenever possible and use technology for meetings and to stay connected.
• Stay home if you’re sick. Employees who appear to have symptoms should be separated from others and sent home.
• Be an example by role modeling safe behaviors and others will follow suit. Don’t cave to co-worker peer pressure and speak up if you feel like your work conditions are unsafe.
• Know that the office and workplace scenarios you see on TV are not a true depiction of what’s OK behavior and don’t reflect real life in the midst of a pandemic.

For more information and tips, visit:

Lane Transit District
Lane County Public Health
Oregon Health Authority
Centers for Disease Control