It’s important to make sure that everyone feels welcome when they enter your business’s office space, whether they are employees or guests. While encouraging a positive, friendly working environment is a great way to start this, you do need to be thinking about how accessible the workspace is overall. For those with limited mobility or other disabilities, you need to make sure that your offices are comfortable and suitable spaces that can meet their needs as well. If you would like to make your workspace more accessible, here are some tips to consider.
1. Automatic Doors
One way you can make entering your offices easier is by installing automatic doors, which can make entry easier for everyone, but particularly for those who do need to use wheelchairs or other supports to help keep them mobile. There is also the option of having an automated door that only opens by itself at the push of a button, so you can have the best of both worlds if this is preferable.
2. Wheelchair Ramps and Lifts
If the entryway into your workspace is above ground level or has steps by the door, then you need to think about adjusting this so that people who use wheelchairs or other supports can also get into the building. Having wheelchair ramps installed is a good idea, and they can be the more straightforward option in most circumstances. However, it might be more suitable to get a platform lift put in to accommodate wheelchairs safely – it is worth looking into both solutions to find out which one will work best for you. You should also consider how accessible the workspace is on the inside, too, and you might need to put in both ramps and lifts in the interior of the office for the same purpose.
3. Dedicated Parking Spaces
If there is a parking space attached to your business’s property, then you should make sure that there are dedicated spaces for disabled people to use that are located as close to the entrance of the building as possible. These spaces will need more space around them, too, for those who might need assistance getting in and out of the car, so marking this area is also important. You can use these handicap stencils to help you do this.
4. Bathrooms
Another thing to keep in mind when you are trying to create a more accessible working environment is how suitable the bathrooms are. It’s not uncommon for office spaces to have bathrooms with a few small cubicles, but this isn’t always appropriate for those with limited mobility and wheelchairs. If there isn’t a disabled toilet in your workspace yet, consider having some work done on the building so that one can be put in to make this a more comfortable experience for any guests or employees who need to use these facilities.
If you want to try and improve the accessibility of your business’s offices, consider the suggestions above and see what you can do to achieve this goal.
