Awfis has announced the formation of the Workplace Operator Readiness Council (WORC), a global coalition of 13 workplace operator members and 20 advisors who together will develop new guidelines to help minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread in the workplace. The council was established in partnership with international workplace operators that include Awfis who together serve hundreds of thousands of member companies and millions of employees worldwide.
WORC is supported by advisors that include Former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Seth Harris, Esq. along with companies from the architecture, engineering, design, and real estate sectors that include CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Gensler, and Hines. The Council will be advised on public health by Arthur Reingold, MD, Division Head of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at University of California, Berkeley, and Scott P. Layne, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health.
“The way we work and run our business has changed many folds due to COVID 19. The transition back to a post COVID phase would be a challenge to many businesses. To help companies across the globe return to a physical workplace efficiently and effectively, Awfis along with global workspace providers is collaborating to create a playbook that would advise and address both functional and behavioral aspects that require re-evaluation and re-alignment. The playbook would also provide a list of best practices that would help business owners ensure a healthy & safe work environment for their employees and clients,” said Amit Ramani, CEO & Founder, Awfis.
“The safe and healthy transition back to the workplace is a top priority for workers and businesses of all kinds. Defining and implementing the protections that will make that return possible given each workplace's particular circumstances will involve a collaborative, comprehensive approach that brings our collective expertise to bear,” said Former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Seth Harris. “Shared and flexible workplace operators have grown to include millions of members worldwide over the last several years. I look forward to working with leading providers in the space to develop the most effective possible protections for the workers they serve.”
Workplace operators around the world are identifying solutions to welcome employees back to the office if and when local health officials declare it safe. Some health and hygiene guidelines identified to-date have been geared toward establishing safe distance between employees, sanitization of common shared spaces and additional measures that include improved control of airflow.
WORC will harness these and other solutions to ensure basic new protocols are actionable and, together with the Council’s advisors, develop leading new guidelines for workplace operators to help minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread at work.
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