How can facility managers help people come back to the office and feel just as comfortable at work as they did at home?

In short, a successful return to the office will include giving people flexible options for their workspaces. Tarkett has partnered with HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm, to understand how our offices can provide a variety of work environments that allow employees to find the workspace that best suits them and their workstyle preferences.  

On top of the physical and emotional comfort this provides, it also helps support an inclusive culture, while attracting and retaining workforce talent. According to Kay Sargent of HOK, “As organizations continue to prioritize the recruitment and retention of a more diverse workforce, neurodiversity is an important consideration that should not be overlooked. There is a compelling human and business case to be made for understanding how the physical environment can impact the well-being of each employee in a workspace, thus impacting performance.”  

Tarkett and HOK have created an online tool to help designers and building managers understand people’s different needs, and the ways purposeful design choices (like lighting, surface patterns and traffic flow) can help create more supportive and inclusive environments for a neurodiverse population. You can also learn more on this topic through our latest CEU: Designing In Belonging.    

How can FMs simplify cleaning routines to keep the workplace safe for people to return to the office?

Tarkett offers several flooring solutions that simplify cleaning routines and minimize lifecycle costs. In areas that require more sound absorption, Tarkett’s Powerbond is a hybrid resilient sheet flooring that provides a wall-to-wall moisture barrier, so leaks and spills can be easily extracted and never reach the subfloor.  

Our Techtonic polyurethane coating provides best-in-class protection for the Contour and iD Latitude LVT collections, which prevents scratches up to 40 percent better than the leading competitor and helps eliminate these crevices where pathogens can hide.  

For optimum infection control, continuous sheet products with welded seams, like Tarkett’s iQ collections, are ideal. iQ technology is unique in that it doesn’t require stripping or refinishing for the entire life of the floor—just a simple dry buffing is sufficient.