5 Tips for A Healthy Office Environment
The coronavirus has affected a lot of aspects around daily life, with the workplace arguably being affected the most. COVID-19 and restrictions around the pandemic have made it more important than ever to prioritize office health and workplace safety in order to support employees in their roles and to ensure the health of the company remains stable, as well.
Post-pandemic, a clean and healthy office environment will help your employees work in a safe space through cold and flu seasons to come.
With a few housekeeping changes and a commitment to social distancing and limiting exposure, companies can effectively keep workers safe as people return to the office when regulations allow.
Communicate
Keeping an open dialogue with employees around the status of work, the location of people, current protocols and supportive messages is crucial to promoting a productive and safe work environment.
Employees should understand what to expect when they return to the office, from sanitization and cleaning schedules to current meeting practices. Supervisors and direct reports should be accessible and open to conversations if employees need help, are sick or if they have questions about the office policies.
Additionally, communicating healthy habits like exercising, taking vitamins C and D, and other natural solutions for whole-body health will better educate your employees to strengthen their immune systems and stay well even outside of work.
Have sick protocols in place
Setting standard procedures for what to do in the event an employee becomes sick will help prepare the team for an efficient transition when unprecedented situations arise. What should the employee do at the first signs of symptoms? How will the company handle notifying teams? Is remote working an option? How long until a sick employee can return to work?
Knowing the next step for any red flag that arises will help the company react quickly and keep project timelines on schedule, ensuring business continuity and success for the group as a whole.
Once your company has developed the processes, keep documents in a central location and organized so that people have easy access to them and inform employees of where to find the information they need.
Implement rigorous housekeeping routines
The office should be a place where employees can be safe and comfortable while working, meaning spaces should be cleaned and sanitized regularly to minimize the risk of workers becoming sick.
Encourage employees to wash their hands frequently, remain at a safe distance from other employees, limit shared spaces or supplies and stay at home when they feel symptoms arise. Communicating to employees the importance of taking their temperature regularly will help educate your teams to be proactive about monitoring their health.
Supply basic protective products
As the company can, providing basic protective products like masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and all-purpose cleaning products will better equip employees to create clean habits. Taking preventative measures will be much easier when the tools are readily available.
Stay Flexible
In situations where the outcomes can’t be controlled, like employees getting sick, the most effective way to keep business moving forward is to remain flexible and willing to pivot and adjust as needed.
Laws and regulations are constantly changing, families are continuing to adjust to whatever normal may look like for them, and being unreasonably inflexible is not only detrimental to company culture, but can cause chaos, confusion and slow productivity.
Maintaining a safe and healthy work environment can be made easier with some preparation and organization. Throughout cold, flu and virus season and beyond, keeping your employees from getting sick to the best of your ability is ultimately security for your bottom line.
As a next generation commerce park, Camp Hall is not only the safest and smartest option for your business, but the site-ready campuses make the development and transition to getting up and running fast and efficient. We’re committed to helping your business progress safely so you can have business as usual. Want to see what space is available? Contact us today.