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Companies make workplace adaptations to keep employees safe as they return

New installations like touchless sinks and dispensers, filtration systems and more, add a layer of protection as employees venture back into the workplace

ATLANTA — As some Atlantans head back into the workplace, some offices are making changes to keep employees safer and reduce their anxiety.

Matt Finn is a healthy design architect with Cognitive Design who designed the Constellations office space on Sweet Auburn Avenue. He explained how they are retrofitting the space with touchless faucets and soap dispensers, as well as installing new air filtration systems.

He said they're also ramping up their cleaning schedule and bringing in new plants to help clean the air, too. But while health and hygiene go hand-in-hand, Finn said too much distance can cause other problems due to social isolation.

"We can see now how some of these precautions against the spread of coronavirus that are intended to benefit our health have the potential to be detrimental to other aspects of our health, like mental and social health," he explained.

So, he said they're working on a balance of keeping their meeting areas intact but far enough apart to follow guidelines.

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Across town on the Westside, Saltbox is also making changes.

It's also a shared warehouse space, with most of their tenants in e-commerce who don't have an option to work from home.

"They are having orders on their websites and they have to fulfill those orders and ship them," explained Saltbox's co-founder Paul D'Arrigo.

D'Arrigo said they started retrofitting early on, and have installed foot-pulls, new air purifiers throughout and, to cut down on people inside, they have a new virtual tour option for prospective tenants.

RELATED: Here are over 35 companies hiring or offering work from home positions

And for all tenants, they're providing anti-microbial hand held hooks to open doors, cabinets and use the copy machine. 

While all these tools add one layer of protection as employees venture back into the workplace, above all, they should not replace good hygiene like washing your hands.

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