It did not take long for COVID-19 to shut down non-essential offices across Canada. Many business operations have adjusted by moving their operations to “work-at-home” positions to keep their doors open.

With this change in the office dynamic, many businesses no longer need large office spaces. Going forward, it may be more worthwhile to rethink how much space you actually need. It could be more profitable to have employees to continue working from home and adapt a smaller office footprint by moving or downsizing your existing space.

Tip #1: Talk to your landlord.

If you lease your office space, discuss downsizing opportunities with your current landlord. They may be willing to work with you to come up with a viable solution, like putting up a wall to cut your current space in half and sub-leasing the unused space to another business.

Tip #2: Relocate office furniture and equipment for at-home employees.

If your employees need office furniture or specific equipment to do their jobs effectively from home, hire commercial movers to pick up and move these items to your employees’ homes.

Tip #3: Consider renting storage space for excess furniture.

If you have extra filing cabinets, desks, chairs, and so on that you don’t want to part with because you are anticipating rebounding at some point in the future, talk to your commercial mover about controlled storage options.

Tip #4: Select a new space that allows for safe social distancing.

If you are going to move into a new space, make sure the new office is set up so cubicles, workstations, break areas, etc., follow safe social distancing of at least 2 meters in between. Your commercial movers can help you set up and your new socially distanced office space too.

Tip #5: Consider rotational work schedules.

With this type of schedule, only a portion of your employees would come into the office to work on specific days. Your other employees would work from home on the days they were not scheduled to come into the office. Using rotational scheduling can be beneficial when your employees still have tasks they can only perform while in the office.

Tip #6: Promote safe working habits.

Encourage your employees to wear face masks when not at their desks or when they cannot safely socially distance. Remind them to wash or sanitize their hands every 20 to 30 minutes. Provide them with sanitizing wipes to wipe down their cubicle and workspaces every few hours.

You should also take the temperatures of employees coming into the office to work. Remind employees if they feel sick or have a temperature they need to stay home and take a sick day or work from home if they are not too sick to still work.

For help with downsizing your office space, moving office furniture to your employees’ homes, or to learn about controlled storage options in Toronto and the GTA from our top-quality commercial movers, please feel free to contact Sueland Moving & Storage at (416) 747-9889 today!