After a long wait, everyone is excited to finally get back to work! Well, they’re maybe not entirely thrilled about the work part, but what would we pay to get out of the confinement of our homes and back to the outside world once again. If there’s one thing clouding this excitement though, it’s the fear for our health and safety. After all, the global pandemic that killed millions of people worldwide is still at large with no guaranteed cure. So how can an employer reassure their employees that returning to the office is safe? Here are the best preventive and safety measures any employer can enact in the workplace.
Follow Governmental Guidelines
The World Health Organization is doing an excellent job of listing risk factors, imposing safety guidelines, and raising awareness. Following their guidelines, governments across the globe have enacted serious regulations for people to abide by. Check the regulations enacted by your state and government and make sure you prepare your office accordingly. After all, you don’t want anyone in your business to get sick or risk the possibility of being fined.
Apply Safety Protocols
There are a few safety protocols you can implement in the workplace to protect all your employees and yourself against the risk of infection. Here’s what you can do:
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Social Distancing
Make sure to implement good social distancing protocols. For starters, separate desks, place regulatory stickers on the ground to keep a 2-meter distance between employees and implement a new workplace environment instead of your regular routine. For instance, if you’re used to holding meetings in a room, find an outdoor alternative instead. Implement a one-way system with clear signage.
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Personal Protection Equipment
It’s better to provide personal protective equipment for your employees on-premises, but you can also alert them that they have to get their own equipment if you’re short on budget. As the experts at dmbsupply recommend, surgical masks are generally required as a minimum, but if staff need to work very closely with customers they may be better with an N95 or KN95 respirator. Those advanced masks would however need to be fitted by a specialist. In addition to masks, gloves are optional.
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Hand Sanitizers
Locate all areas of high contact and make a point of placing a hand sanitizer beside it. Common places include doors, shared facilities and equipment, and bathrooms.
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Renovate the bathrooms
Inform All Employees
Once you implement the necessary safety measures, make sure to keep all your employees on the same page. Type down the new list of safety protocols, send it to everyone via email and ask them to confirm, and print and hang the list in all rooms.
Monitor New Protocols
Alerting employees is not enough; you have to make sure they’re diligently following the instructions. If your workplace has security cameras, then you can monitor their compliance by checking the footage at the end of every day and warn non-complying individuals. If this is not an option, then make a point of roaming your business premises periodically to ensure everyone is complying with the safety protocols.
Getting back to work after the rough patch we’ve all gone through will probably prove chaotic and daunting for everyone. There’s also the psychological factor of being worried about the risk of infection. That will be to some extent mitigated by the psychological gains of social connection.
Do your best to implement the best-proven safety protocols and keep your door open for your employees to share their worries, doubts, and concerns.