5 Takeaways from COVID for The Great Return to Office
June 21, 2021. Written by Joonas Vikström @ Joonas Vikström
As we have just settled to the new normal with remote working and social distancing, we have another paradigm shift lurking behind the corner: The great return to the office. At the time of writing, this great return cannot happen quite yet, but seems like everyone is buzzing about it and preparing. It’s a matter of weeks when this is happening as people are being vaccinated efficiently and the infection charts are finally dragged down.
But are we returning to the same “old normal” it used to be, or have we learned something new from these pandemic times? Only time can tell, but at least there are some reasonable takeaways from the pandemic years helping to prepare for the future challenges in case they appear. Hopefully they won’t.
1. Basic hygiene
During the time of the pandemic there seemed to be a flood of technical devices and applications for enhanced indoor hygiene. However, nothing appeared to outperform the good old basics, the gold standard of hygiene i.e. hand washing, normal cleaning and basic human behavior to mitigate the infection risk. Basic principles form the base to build on with all kinds of add-ons. Don’t come to work if you feel sick and remember to cough to your arm or sleeve, not your palm. If these basics are covered, you’re already halfway there.