Workplace Safety After Coronavirus
It's important that we all do our part to stop the spread of coronavirus through self-quarantine. That said, there's nothing wrong with building a strategy for returning to work prior to when our return to work date is announced. Here's a few tips to consider while building your back to work plan:
Consider increasing the air exchange rate in your building. By circulating new air, you reduce the amount of potential virus within your workspace.
Rededicate a few employees to cleaning. By periodically sanitizing commonly touched items (shared computers, door handles, tables, chairs, etc), you can reduce the spread.
Reorganize your physical space to accommodate social distancing. Occupy every other cubicle, distance workstations, and separate into different rooms when able.
Provide cloth masks to employees. Take your branding up a notch by providing masks branded to your logo!
Take a graduated approach to calling back employees, while instituting a shift in schedules. If possible, stagger when employees are at work to avoid large groups of people.
Double check your workplace sick policy to ensure it matches the new world of coronavirus. Set clear guidelines on when employees can be sent home due to being ill (and when they can return to work post-illness).
Stay up to date on what testing policies are allowable by OSHA.
If an employee tests positive, have a policy in place for how to sanitize their work area.
Reassess your time off policies to adapt for employees who still have children out of school (and thus no childcare). Remember expanded FMLA now covers anyone taking care of a child due to their school closing from coronavirus.