Desk Divider Panels

Workplace safety for the commercial office has truly changed since the pandemic outbreak. Walking into an office two years ago, there were rarely plexiglass/ acrylic dividing panels to be seen anywhere. Yet, they have become an office staple on par with modular desks and office chairs. The office has changed so much since then that we would only notice an office without these safety measures and think something was out of place. The commercial office is different now; workplace safety is different as well. So, did these new measures cross a line of absurdity or did this trial we are beginning to come out of show us that safety office furniture and guidelines needed to step up? And where do we go from here?

Some individuals rushed to meet the swiftly changing commercial office safety demands by hastily stringing up pieces of plexiglass or acrylic sheets at transaction counters and reception areas as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic hit home. This was a means to an end, and could not be viewed as a permanent fix. First off, the homemade rigging looked sloppy at best and often times the self-installed drill holes for the rigging put stress cracks in the material. Not to mention the wire that haphazardly held it into place. I think it is safe to say that the self-installs are not the way of the future. In time, we can look back on this era fondly as we all proved that in a pinch, we all have a little MacGyver in us.

One of the great things about the American free market is that with a little time everything can be made available to us, especially commercial office safety equipment. It may have been a slow process with a lot of promises and empty inventory lists, but finally professional commercial safety equipment was made available to all professionals. This includes everything from acrylic sneeze guards to office air purifiers. The market came along nicely over time. The products made available to everyone were game changers. They allowed us to step up office safety to tackle a pandemic head-on. The end result was that a commercial office could put safety measures and equipment in place to make the work environment a safer place for all.

The question remains, did we go a step or five too far in our desperation to provide a safe workplace for all? In an ever-increasing safety consciousness across the industry, the answer is a resounding no! Commercial office management has found that any measure that allows a worker to return home to their family each day is not a wasted effort. Providing for the family is the reason for the office in the first place, and that cannot be done if we are not going home as healthy as we walked in. Workplace safety in a commercial office environment must be prepared to meet the needs of the workers, anything less is a detriment to the work family that spends at least forty hours together every week.

That is not to say that some of the safety measures that were put into place at the height of the pandemic should automatically be left in place. Commercial office safety should be fluid, what worked six months ago shouldn't be gospel today without a proper evaluation. As far as plexiglass and acrylic sneeze guards and wall dividers go, most safety experts suggest leaving them in place. Most agree that this is one safety measure from the pandemic that is here to stay. But, a regular reevaluation of all workplace safety measures and equipment should be made to ensure that the commercial office is being ran efficiently, and safely as possible. Who knows what the future holds, but the last couple years have proven that we are resourceful and committed to safety in our workplace no matter what life throws at us.