Plastic Shields Around Desks, No Coffee Dispensers: How Offices in Post-outbreak Era Could Look Like

Upon arriving at work, employees should get a temperature and symptom check.

Inside the office, desks should be 6 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 sweeping new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the safest way for American employers to reopen 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 carpooling, 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 CDC, 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.

Some of the measures are in keeping with what some employers are already planning, but others 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.

Citing examples like Twitter, which has said it may never return to corporate office space, 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 CDC guidelines.

Matt [email protected] The New York Times Company