Awfis, India’s home grown co-working space provider, 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 minimise 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 US Secretary of Labour 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 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 behavioural 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.
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, sanitisation 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 minimise the risk of COVID-19 spread at work.
WORC as announced includes:
Members:
● Awfis
● Convene
● Fora
● Found 8
● Great Room
● Hana
● IOS Offices
● iQ Office
● IWG
● Ikigai
● Industrious
● JustCo
● Mindspace
● Talent Garden
● The Work Project
Advisor Organisations:
● A+I
● AECOM
● Arup
● Avison Young
● CBRE
● Colliers International
● Cushman & Wakefield
● EQ Office
● Gensler
● Henderson Engineers
● Hines
● Instant Group
● Jamestown
● JLL
● M Moser
● Nelson
● Norr
● ROOM
● SM&W
● Savills
● WB Engineering
