(Newswire.net — April 30, 2020) —
There are signs that the COVID-19 curve has flattened and the number of infected cases is decreasing. Some governors are thinking about reopening the state and allowing businesses to resume. In case you own a business, you may be wondering what you can do to prepare the office for your employees to return. Here are a few helpful tips.
1. Assess the Situation
Since employees have been working from home, you should know their thoughts about coming back to work. How many of them are ready to come back to the office as soon as movement restrictions are lifted? What are their concerns before coming back to the office? You might have to change a few policies for them to be comfortable with the office environment. According to a recent survey, some organizations have already begun the change process. They know that creating new policies to enhance social distancing and hygiene will encourage employees to come back to the office.
2. Communicate
Any changes implemented by the organization post-COVID-19 should be disclosed to the employees. The employees should know when they are expected back at the office. In the official communication, you should also announce internal changes that are going to keep employees safe post-COVID-19. When you show the employees that you’re doing everything to guarantee their safe return, you make them trust you more. You should also give employees time to slowly adjust to the new changes. For those that are still paranoid, they can wait a little longer and return when they’re ready.
3. Space Changes
Since COVID-19 has no cure, social distancing rules should be maintained when people get back to the office. In the reception areas, you can install a plexiglass barrier to prevent people from coming too close to the staff. You should also get rid of waiting chairs to minimize the number of people in the area at any given time.
Your organization should also change the layout of the office floor plan. Make sure that employee workstations are six feet apart to prevent transmission. You should also get rid of any empty sits or desks in the workstation to prevent someone from sitting there and breaking social distancing protocols. Employees should also minimize clutter at their workstation for easy cleaning.
Initially, conference rooms could seat more than 15 people. Since the law discourages gatherings of more than 10 people, limit the number of employees using the boardroom to ten. Space the chairs at least 6 feet apart and take the extra furniture to the storage room.
In the kitchen areas, touching of items should be limited. Instead of having one coffee maker for everyone, your firm should encourage takeaways from restaurants. You can partner with a local coffee shop to have the beverages delivered to whoever wants them. Your firm should also encourage pre-packed food. If employees want to have bagels or donuts, the organization should provide pre-packed versions.
4. Hand Sanitizer Stations
Since you can easily get COVID-19 from touching your face, there should be hand sanitizers and wipes everywhere. The best place to put them is near doors so that employees can use them when coming and going out of a room. If possible, look for touchless sanitizer dispensers.
5. Improve Air Quality
Air quality and ventilation are very important if you want to make your employees feel safe at the office. You should make sure that the humidifier is always working. You keep the windows open at all times to allow the movement of fresh air. The air filters should be working at all times to improve air quality. You can also add nano coatings to surfaces to prevent touch contamination.
Since social distancing will still be practiced at the office, there won’t be enough space for everyone. As a result, some employees may have to continue working from home. It’s up to you as the management to decide which employees should return and which ones should function remotely.