Back in early March, many offices shut their doors and moved to a remote office model to comply with social distancing guidelines and keep employees out of harm’s way during the global pandemic. COVID-19 shut down a lot of the world for months and is still lingering. With things starting to calm down and almost six months of staying at home, many employees are itching to get back to work while others are still feeling unsure about the safety of it. If you want to reopen your office, even limitedly, check out these tips for safely reopening your office; after all, your employees’ health and wellness is the most important thing.
Put in screening measure at the entrance
When you reopen your office, the first thing is to not require all employees to show up all the time. Try to space out the employees’ in-person schedules to allow for optimal social distancing at the beginning. Before employees enter the building, they should be screened. Ask them if they’ve felt any of the main symptoms of COVID-19 recently; if so, send them home. Take their temperatures; if the temperatures are 99 degrees or above, send them home and recommend they get tested for COVID-19. Employees should also be checked to ensure they are wearing a mask properly at this point prior to entering the workplace.
Offer extra sick leave to employees showing symptoms
If an employee shows any symptoms or tells you they are feeling any symptoms that may align with those of COVID-19, send them home right away and ask them to stay home until they receive a negative COVID-19 test result or after two weeks of self-quarantining. To help keep employees home when they are sick, consider offering them extra paid sick days so that the quarantine doesn’t negatively impact their income.
Disinfect your office and provide employees with PPE
Every day, you should aim to disinfect your entire office. Investing in an electrostatic disinfectant sprayer is the most efficient and effective way to do this. It sprays a 360-degree angle to cover the entirety of surfaces, from desks and computers to door handles and chairs. More than just disinfecting after each day, you should also provide certain things to employees such as face masks, hand sanitizing stations, regularly cleaned restrooms, and a workspace that is at least six feet away from any other people.
