Design healthy working environments during the COVID-19 period

COVID-19 has affected most of our activities in multiple ways, with changing our working environment being one of them. This project explores measures for preventing or limiting the transmission of COVID-19 in indoor office workplaces, focusing on space and place by promoting healthy behaviours within those environments. Research comprised of a series of literature reviews using both systematic and narrative methods. Suggestions made from literature review were then split in a) top down guidance mainly from governmental guidance and b) bottom up guidance deriving mainly from the industry. Results were organised under three main themes: a) advice on surface interactions and virus viability); b) behavioural advice focusing on the return-to-work effects on psychological and mental health outcomes along with control measures and suggestions on preparing buildings to return-to-work during Covid-19 and c) advice focusing on thermal and ventilation conditions and how they affect virus transmission. The implications of COVID-19 for workspace are more relevant than ever. The project shed light a)to the interrelationship between individuals and their office space and how the latter influences workers and b) to the knowledge transfer from medical architecture to office design for Covid. This cross-disciplinary review raises questions that need to be considered in future studies inclusive of other topic areas apart from the ones discussed here, so as to generate interdisciplinary knowledge on other equally important fields of study which will impact companies that plan and design workspaces and the people who use it, promoting both healthy working environments and behaviours.