AUSTIN, TX—One of the biggest questions for facilities and human resources managers, school officials and leadership teams is not only when organizations will return to shared spaces but how to do so and work together in the safest way possible. What will those spaces look like? What are the solutions available for furniture, materials, configurations that harmonize with a brand but also offer added safety?

CORE Office Interiors/COREoi has been outfitting shared spaces for 30 years in Texas and beyond for clients such as the San Antonio Spurs, Kelsey-Seybold and YETI. COREoi says there are numerous office interior product solutions for organizations considering a return to the office:

• Architectural Walls─Demountable walls are sturdy, safe and offered in both glass and opaque options, and can be installed in a day and moved just as quickly.
• Screens─Installing screens creates small barriers between people to keep them safer while still allowing for open visual space.
• Booths─These transitional privacy workspaces are enclosed and can be cleaned after each use.
• Storage─Lockers allow team members to safely store items without creating desk clutter.
• Flexible Seating─Fewer individual workstations and more touchdown work areas will provide more flexibility for the workplace of the future.
• Sanitation Solutions─Conveniently placed tools prevent the spread of germs in an office space.

"Work spaces will be reconfigured in ways that welcome employees back with more thoughtful space design and more options of areas to work from," Nick Williams, chief revenue officer and principal at CORE Office Interiors, tells GlobeSt.com. "Solutions will need to be behavioral, not just adding additional screens and dividers. Clients want to know how to safely and effectively use space without spending a lot of money."

Williams says that can be accomplished by reconfiguring workstations to allow for staggered seating while maintaining the same footprint. Solutions include instituting specific directions for travel paths, offering storage lockers or storage for offices that provide hoteling workstations and open yet distanced touchdown work areas or phone booths.