The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of the workplace. Safety and monetary constraints are among the major changes brought forth by COVID-19. Not only will this impact employee benefits offered by companies, but it will also pave the way for redesigning the office.
Employers can consider the following best practices to prevent the spread of future diseases and protect their employees’ health and safety:
Physical Changes to Workplace
With social distancing being the new normal, workplaces consider making amendments to the employees’ seating arrangements where possible. Consider limiting people in high traffic areas like lunch and conference rooms. You may also consider placing arrows on the ground for traffic flow, this will eliminate people walking past each other.
To inforce social distancing consider placing taped places to stand at reception counters or copy machines as a reminder. If you have an open reception area you may want to add Plexiglas barriers.
Technology Considerations & Telecommuting
In a post-coronavirus setup, employees should be given more options for working remotely. This reduces the risk of spreading viral diseases and also offers companies the luxury of tapping a broader talent pool. From an environmental perspective, this reduces greenhouse emissions as well.
If any of your staff have the ability to work remote you may want to continue to do that. Or consider a rotation of staff in the office. This will limit the staff in the building.
Best practices for expanding remote work include creating outlined companywide remote practices, rather than leaving remote work approval requests up to the subjective opinion of a manager.
Consider holding online meeting when possible. This will limit travel time and eliminate the need to have people grouped together.
Behavioral Changes for Employee Benefits
Employers can change the company culture to discourage shaking of hands and develop policies that re-enforce repeated hand-washing. The cleaning schedules of all common areas must be altered to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Cleaning products, soaps, and sanitizers should be readily available for the same. In a post-COVID world, physical meetings will have a limited number of participants to foster adherence to social distancing norms.
With so many changes all around, it is challenging for a business to keep pace. Additionally, there is a requirement to ensure the safety of all the office necessities without compromising employee benefits. Contact the experts at CIA Insurance and Risk Management to learn about how to ensure your post-COVID workplace safety through insurance.
Post written by Janelle Morck, Vice President | Employee Benefits Risk Management (ERM)
Comments are closed.