24 July 2020
In the past few weeks, more and more Sparkies have returned to the office for a couple of days per week. As working from home will remain the default situation for the months to come, it’s refreshing to be able to meet in person every now and then. Each colleague can decide freely if or when they want to make use of the office space. Some project teams pick a fixed weekday to make most of their day at the office, as Maurice van Heijningen, Associate Partner, explains: “Meeting in person gives everyone new energy and helps to align our work during the rest of the week.” Thanks to new arrangements and a few new rules, it has been possible to welcome everyone back at the office in a safe and responsible way.
REGISTRATION
Everyone wishing to work at the office needs to register online. If the maximum capacity is reached, people can enlist on the waitlist, in case someone who registered decides to stay at home after all. To avoid crowds in the morning, we’ve established three 30-minute arrival intervals for everyone to choose from.
SIGNAGE
“Traffic” signs around the office indicate one-way walking routes, so people can safely keep their distance without accidentally bumping into each other in more narrow areas. Red and green stickers on all of the desks help to find a suitable workspace while keeping the required distance. The doors toward the anterooms of all bathrooms are equipped with new signs that indicate their occupation. Yellow signs remind everyone to keep their distance, especially on staircases, and the new meeting room capacities are clearly posted at each meeting room’s door.
HYGIENE
To keep the space hygienic at all times, the team installed small stations with paper towels and (hand) sanitizer on every floor. Doorknobs and other parts of the office that are usually touched by many hands are cleaned multiple times per day. Thanks to the architecture of the SparkOptimus office, based in a former transformer building, the space includes many separate and airy rooms of different sizes, allowing colleagues to keep their distance while still being able to benefit from direct interaction.