Are you ready to return to the office? Even though the pandemic is still raging through the world, some companies have no other options but to return to their workspaces. To maintain your employees’ health, you need to follow social distancing measures and guidelines.
It may seem challenging to stick to the social distancing measures while working in the office. However, it’s necessary if you want to prevent the virus from spreading further. How can you protect your employees and keep implement social distancing measures to your workspace?
1. Make wearing masks mandatory
Even though a lot of people are against wearing masks in public, this is an essential measure if you want to keep your business running. No matter the industry you’re in, if you have employees or clients that will visit your premises, you need to implement that rule.
To increase the number of people who are following this rule, don’t let anyone without a mask in. Instead, you can provide them with disposable masks or reusable masks with your company’s logo. This will boost the branding, and make your business rank higher than ever.
2. Wash and disinfect rules
One of the best ways of preventing further covid-19 infections is by washing your hands and work area frequently. Therefore, you need to provide your employees with soap and disinfectant to avoid contaminations. Even though you can’t make your employees wash or disinfect their hands frequently, you can make sure they have enough supplies to do so.
So, make sure that every loo and toilet has soap, paper and disinfectant for hands. On top of that, place a bottle of disinfectant in each office or workspace. Make your employees clean their desks, phones and keyboards before and after work.
3. Flexible work schedule
Even though you need some of your employees in the office, you can still provide flexible or remote work schedule for the others. This will prevent crowds in the workspace and offer your employees the to organise their time however they want.
Another great idea to prevent crowding in the workplace is organising work in shifts. For instance, the first shift can start from 8 in the morning and end at 1:30 pm, while the other shift can start at 2 pm and end at 7:30 pm. This gives the cleaning ladies enough time to clean before and after each shift and therefore, minimise the spread of the virus.
4. Minimise in-person meetings
In-person meetings are crucial in some companies. However, we live in a digital era where the Internet can provide us with various means of communication, without having to meet up in person. Using social media apps and conferencing calls, you’re reducing the traffic on your premises and saving your employees’ health.
If in-person meetings are necessary, consider limiting the number of people that are allowed to enter the conference room. You can even combine in-person meetings with online conference calls so a greater number of people can attend. That would be the perfect solution to events and product promotions as well!
5. Maintain air conditioning
Did you know that air conditions are the biggest threat when it comes to spreading the virus? Local air conditions that don’t filter the outside air but continuously blow the inside air around the premises. Since COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, this can be extremely dangerous for you and your employees.
So, maintain and service the air conditioner frequently. Clean out the filters and have them replaced when necessary. On top of that, track your employees’ health. If one gets infected immediately isolate the other members of the same team to prevent the disaster.
6. Provide enough space for distance
Whether you work in a large business company, restaurant or some other type of facility, you need to provide enough space for social distancing. For instance, allow only a couple of clients in the bank to ensure the distance between them isn’t less than two metres.
Similarly, remove every other table in the restaurant and allow limited numbers of customers to dine in. In case you work in healthcare, this is extremely important for your business. Limit the number of patients in the waiting room, and don’t allow people to sit next to one another to prevent covid from spreading.
7. Taking a walk
You surely know how team building and team bonding are important. However, this is not the right time to hang out with other people and spend so much time together. Instead of dining together, encourage your employees to take the walk in the fresh air. This will minimise the chances of getting infected.
If your employees have a habit of going out every Friday night, encourage them to split up and hang out in smaller groups to prevent the covid-19 from spreading. On top of that, limit the number of people allowed in the cafeteria. As lunch breaks are essential, limit the number of employees allowed to eat at the same time.
8. Carefully clean the workspace
Even though it’s still uncertain whether the virus sticks to the surfaces or not, thoroughly cleaning every corner of your office is essential. Whether you work with others or have the office for yourself, schedule cleaning at least twice during the day.
Even though large premises aren’t easy to maintain, cleaning the floors and door handles should be your top priority. Use recommended supplies to clean and disinfect your workspace. Encourage every employee to do so, to make the cleaning easier for maintenance workers.
9. Reduce overall capacity
To reduce the chance of getting infected or spreading the virus through your premises, don’t start working with full capacity straight away. If you have an open space office concept, consider using every other desk. This rule can also be applied to restaurants and coffee shops. On top of that, you can use spare meeting rooms as new offices.
Take care of your employees’ physical health by providing them with adjustable standing desks they can use. Even though desks like these have many benefits, one crucial flaw is leg ache from standing too long. That’s why you should get resilient desk mats for your employees and minimise the chances of additional sick leaves.
10. Don’t neglect mental health
While respecting social distancing measures, you need to respect your employees as well. Even though social distancing is important, you can’t forget that humans are social beings. This means that we crave human contact and interaction to maintain our mental health. In addition to that, mental wellbeing is vital for productive and successful work. So, how can you help?
Provide your employees with mental health days or therapy. While they are at work, try to boost their morale for better results and success. Don’t forget to give them frequent feedback and reward them for working hard even though the world is heavily affected by the pandemic.
Conclusion
As you can see, social distancing measures are still necessary for the workplace. Your employees and clients need to follow the guidelines to prevent the virus from spreading across your premises. If you keep your premises clean and frequently test your employees, you’ll minimise the chances of the virus spreading around your offices. Keep in mind that social distancing, clean hands and masks are still our best protection from this virus.
