Maintaining distance, cleaning surfaces, creating physical barriers, and other practices in the workplace can help mitigate risk and keep your staff safe
Businesses are beginning to consider returning to work. For business owners, the challenge will be to mitigate risk as much as possible, with practices and policies that put employee safety first.
There are common sense practices we’re applying to our personal lives that can easily translate to an office environment. Look for ways to use what we know about the virus, and its spread through contact and respiratory droplets, to help guide policies and practices that can help mitigate risk in the workplace.
Maintain distancing
While we’re all practicing distancing and trying to keep a 6-feet radius between ourselves and others when we purchase essential goods, the practice should be just as effective in the workplace. Some workplaces have the luxury of space, where business owners can modify workspaces to maintain distances of 6 feet. Although some moving may be required, along with the anticipated rewiring of workstations, the effort is worthwhile.
For most others, small space and tightly knit groups are the norm. Many offices moved away from the “cubicle farm” layout to open concept workspaces. These areas may be particularly problematic to slow the spread of COVID-19. If you can’t get (or can’t afford to get) cubicles ordered, delivered, and installed ASAP, it may take some creativity to create safe distances.
If employees work at a group station with connected tables, move around as many as possible to create spaces between. If the office setup was a grouping of small tables together to form a large work area in the center of the room, move the small tables to the walls. Employees could still be facing the center, with their back to the wall, but with more space in between. Avoid close back-to-back or face-to-face configurations.
A good idea may be to make a rough sketch of the room and desk dimensions and draw out your options before you start moving furniture and rerouting wires.
Create barriers where possible
If you can’t move furniture to separate employees, barriers between desks may be a solution. Large pieces of cardboard or wood placed between gaps could create a cubicle-like separation. Remember when you were a kid and hung a sheet between yourself and your sibling to get some privacy in your room?
That skill set might come in handy to create a COVID-19 barrier between yourself and your colleagues. You’ll need a clothesline and clean sheets, but you could create a workplace fort that’s fun and protective.
Keep your workplace clean
Keeping surfaces clean will be critically important to mitigate risk. Hand and surface disinfecting wipes and cleaning products should be essential in all office.
Air it out
HSE recommends opening windows or adjusting air conditioners to increase air circulation and flow. With spring finally arriving in most parts of the country, open the windows if your workspace allows. If not, keep fans running as much as possible. You can even encourage employees to keep small personal fans at their workspace, to keep the air moving, and hopefully the germs, away from themselves.
Wear a mask
You are being asked to wear masks in public places to keep the transmission of respiratory droplets from spreading. Office policies could mirror those recommendations. While employees are in their office or cubicle, masks can be off, but ask that they wear them whenever they venture outside their workspace to keep others safe.
Minimize contact
Encourage employees to email, text, or call — rather than meet face-to-face — with coworkers. Remember, don’t shake hands.
The more we minimize contact, the more we minimize spread. Eating meals at desks, rather than lunch or break rooms, should be highly encouraged. Some companies are even closing down these common areas to keep employees from congregating. If that’s not possible, remove some tables and chairs and space them further apart for employees to eat/rest while keeping a safe distance.
Hand washing
Employee hand washing has always been a priority, but in today’s environment it’s more critical than ever. The HSE has guidelines on how clean hands stop the spread of COVID-19. Employers should post these prominently in all restrooms:
Follow these 5 steps every time:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap
Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice
Rinse your hands well under clean, running water
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them
Take responsibility
Remind employees to stay home when they’re sick. Also let them know if they become sick at work they should notify their manager immediately and go home. Wiping down surfaces before use and minimizing contact as much as possible should be top of mind until this virus is under control. Ask employees for suggestions they may have to minimize risk and slow the spread. The more we help each other, the sooner we may be able to get back to normal.
