As businesses have started opening up again, people are now desperate to get back to their normal work routine. We all know that the past few months have entirely changed the picture of our lives. Practices and etiquettes which were once considered best have now gone out of trend. These changes have not only affected our personal lives but professional lives as well.
As much as it sounds scary, returning to work after COVID-19 can be made less harmful if safety precautions are taken carefully. To ease the transition, jupiter supplies step in to make grant health services when employees return post-pandemic.
The essential supplies and arrangements to ensure your and employees health are important to take into consideration if you want to maintain a hygienic environment at your workplace.
Make your workplace safe
In times like these, health and safety should be one of your topmost priorities. You can begin by ensuring that the physical workplace meets all standards of COVID-19 friendly atmosphere.
It is suggested to hire a cleaning service before you open the doors to your employees. Their high-grade cleaning services will kill germs which one can’t kill through following regular cleaning methods. Their ability to get into every nook and cranny will kill germs and bacterias which could be hiding in your workplace.
It is also advisable to ask the cleaners to disinfect both individual working places and common room areas because you cannot afford to take any risk. They may also shampoo carpets and clean blocked air ducts.
You should also reconsider the cleaning standards of your office. Were the sweepers paying attention to sweeping and cleaning? Or were they just vacuuming before? Ask your cleaning staff to disinfect workstations every night and clean washrooms and common room multiples time a day.
You can also clean the joint kitchen, cupboards and fridges and throw out any expired items. Employees who have been away for months may have stored eatables or other consumables so it is in their best interest to dispose of these items to avoid mold and pests.
Promote good hygiene
Office cleaning is your responsibility but it is important to instruct employees to take care of themselves because each individual is responsible for his/her own health. When everyone plays their part, the whole staff will feel more at ease.
You can buy a great variety of hand sanitizers, tissues, soaps and face masks from Jupiter Supplies. Once your workers, colleagues and employees will see you following all the precautionary measures accordingly, they will be inspired to look after themselves as well.
In addition to this, you can also paste posters in common rooms as a friendly reminder for the employees about:
- Handwashing practices
- Cough/sneeze etiquettes
- COVID-19 symptoms
- Not attending work in the office if they fall ill
- Use sanitizers from time to time
You can also place disinfectants like sanitizers, face masks, tissues rolls at every desk so employees can make use of it and wipe down counters, door handles, elevator buttons and other things after use.
Redesign policies and procedures
This worldwide pandemic has greatly altered the ways an industry does its business. Keeping this point in view, it has become crucial for one to rethink about a company or business’s policies to fall in line with the practices which suits the current situation.
One of the most important policies you need to redevise is about sick leave. Do employees get extra leave if they test positive? If so, how many days will they get off? For those who have to take care of an infected person, how many days can they remain absent?
Apart from that, a second wave of coronavirus is highly likely to occur and therefore long term plans need to be put into action to support the fluctuations of the economy.
You should always keep a backup plan for remote work so you can save yourself from last minute hassles if the situation gets out of hand. More flexible attendance and paid time off policies should be renewed in the future.
While organizing meetings, make sure you do not stuff too many people in the conference room and that you instruct the employees to fill up to half capacity so minimum physical interaction can be practiced. Large meetings should take place over video conferences.
Manage office layout
As mentioned before, a large number of employees returning to the workplace renders a huge risk for spreading and contracting a virus.
Managing the strength of workers is significant to ensure workplace health.
It is important to plan a staggered reintroduction to the office. Processes like rotating the groups of employees working from home and office, rescheduling meetings and office timings could be of great importance. No casual handshakes should take place and resist the temptation to open doors to everyone on the same day. The higher the number of people, the higher the risk of catching the virus.
Fighting against traumatic COVID-19 experience
Self-isolation during this pandemic has greatly affected the mental health of many people.
Colleagues and managers should be informed about these effects and ways to deal with it so they can spot employees who are struggling to overcome their traumatic experiences. The near death experience or losing a loved one may have left the traces of the trauma and providing them with the necessary help can bring about a positive change.
Rebuilding the workplace morale
Being away from the office, colleagues, friends and the staff for such a long time may have brought an uncomfortable phase of timidity amongst the employees. You can arrange regular breaks between busy work schedules so employees can catch up where they left from. By respecting the safe distance policy, a light catch up session with friends and colleagues can relieve everyone from this pandemic fiasco and rehabilitate them back into the normal working routine.
We hope the above measures have clarified your issue and now that you’re aware of these basic requirements, start jotting down points equipments you need to have before you join your office.