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What We Did To Safeguard The Office Shop

As of Friday, many companies entered Stage 2 of reopening Ontario. We all know the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and I can say confidently that I believe no one wants to see a second wave hit our country and take more lives. Until a vaccine becomes available, non-pharmaceutical intervention, like social distancing and safeguarding, is the most productive way to tackle the spread of this virus. At The Office Shop, the health and safety of our clients and our employees is of utmost importance to us. Therefore we were not willing to compromise on completely covering our office in protective equipment. Here’s what we did to safeguard The
Office Shop:

Research
First, we got informed about the latest information regarding COVID-19 and Ontario’s step-by step plan to reopen. We researched how the virus spreads within an office and how to best protect employees and clients from it. We made sure that all of our answers to this problem were supported by the most current scientific research.

Employee and Client Survey
We discussed our plan to reopen with our employees and some of our clients. Receiving feedback from both was one of the most important aspects in our decision to reopen The Office Shop. Your contentment is imperative to us and we recognize that an employee cannot do their job efficiently and comfortably if they are worried about their personal well-being. Similarly, clients will not interact with us if we are not taking the proper steps to shield them as well.

Alternate Employee Schedules
Based on our research, it is best to alternate our employees by limiting how many people are physically in the office at a time. Additionally, employees will alternate working from home and working in the office on a weekly basis, giving them time to rest and reducing their interaction with the public.

Sanitation
Masks and gloves are provided at the door for our employees and our customers. We ask that both sides of our business, employee and client, protect themselves by wearing this personal protective gear. For your safety, it’s something we strongly suggest. As always, we will consistently clean and sanitize our space to meet the World Health Organization and the Government of Canada’s standards.

Safeguarding Furniture and Equipment
Of course, The Office Shop prides itself on being the top provider of office furniture. We have completely safeguarded our office with state-of-the-art hardware and fittings, starting with our reception station. We have added directional floor arrows to ensure physical distancing and to avoid confusion. We got rid of the lunchroom and have asked employees to eat at their desk to prevent the spread of multiple people touching the same surface. Even though they are taking much needed breaks, we encourage them to leave work early. Our sales desks are also enclosed with protective screens, which you could add to your office too.

Furthermore, we have improved the airflow in our office by keeping our vents open and unblocked, replacing air filters frequently, and opening windows and doors to allow fresh air circulation. Ask us how you can safeguard your office with our top-of-the-line furniture and equipment today.

Communication
As always, communication is one of the most essential aspects of running a successful business. As the owner, collaborating with our management team, it is important that we maintain open communication with our employees and clients. Checking in with you and asking how you’re feeling on a weekly basis is something that cannot fall by the wayside. We need to constantly know how you are feeling and how we can make you feel more confident about being at The Office Shop. We want to know if you have been in contact with anyone displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or if you are personally feeling under the weather. Tell us so that we can ensure you get the rest and healthcare you need and so that we can do our part in limiting the spread. The COVID-19 pandemic is a battle we are going to be fighting for longer than we anticipated. While these uncertain times can be discouraging and difficult to navigate, the team at The Office Shop is doing everything in our power to educate ourselves on how we can best serve and protect our employees and clients. We will stop at nothing to ensure your comfort and happiness in any
way we can. To learn more about how you too can safeguard your office, contact us today.