What do we need to do to make the workplace safe and ready for bringing people back to work?

Last week many businesses have been focused on the risk assessments they need to implement to ensure their teams can return safely to work. A great article in Executive Grapevine outlines this and I found the information practical and concise.

The Government wants the economy to restart, and getting people back to work is a key proponent of this. Yet this isn’t going to be an overnight shift. As all businesses will have to first and foremost secure the safety of their workers.

Overcoming these barriers will no doubt be the difference between regaining some semblance of professional life pre-COVID-19, and remaining remote for the foreseeable future.

So what are the key barriers?

It will come as no surprise that many of the key elements here are health and safety related. Before employees even step foot back into the workplace, many office space leasing companies, such as CBRE, have sent specific guidelines to all tenants about the requirement of a deep clean. This includes areas such as foyers, kitchens and toilets. Again, before employees can step inside, all doors must be kept open, sanitiser gel must be available in all common areas and strict rules on sharing spaces such as lifts must be communicated.

When employees re-enter the building, employers must consider the maintenance of social distancing. Realistically, are people going to be able to safely sit two metres away from their colleagues and maintain working standards without the threat of entering someone else’s personal space? Some have considered pre-installing Perspex screens between desks, allowing people to work in smaller environments whilst maintaining distancing.

Common areas, such as socialising spaces, kitchens, bathrooms, games rooms, meeting and board rooms etc, will effectively be out of use, or ‘one-in-one-out’ until safety can be assured in increased numbers.

Lastly, leaders must consider logical travel to and from their place of work. If the main form of transport for employees is by train, such as in city centres, then regardless of safety measures installed in the workplace, it may simply not be feasible for the office to reopen. Similarly, if a significant proportion of your employees take a bus or carpool, this is also unsafe in the current pandemic.

To give employers more of an idea, if they should be prepared to reopen, the Chartered Institute for People Development (CIPD) released three key questions that all leaders should ask themselves before considering a return to work. These are:

Is it essential? 

If people can continue to work from home they must continue to do that for the foreseeable future. If they cannot work from home, is their work deemed essential or could the business continue to use the Government’s Job Retention Scheme for longer, giving them the time needed to put safety measures and clear employee guidance and consultation in place? 

Is it safe?

Employers have a duty of care to identify and manage risks to ensure that the workplace is sufficiently safe to return to. This will involve social distancing measures, potentially reconfiguring workspaces and common areas, possible changes to working hours to reduce risk of exposure and increased workplace cleaning and sanitation measures. Employers should take their time with gradual returns to work to test these measures in practice and ensure they can work with larger numbers before encouraging more of their workforce back.  

Is it mutually agreed?

CIPD research found that four in 10 people are anxious about returning to work and there are concerns people could be forced back. It’s vital that there is a clear dialogue between employers and their people so concerns, such as commuting by public transport, can be raised and individual needs and worries are taken into account. There will need to be flexibility on both sides to accommodate different working times or schedules as ways of managing some of these issues.