Covid-19 And Workplaces: How To Ensure That Your Employees Are Safe From Infections

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, and so many businesses are still trying to recover from it. While so many workplaces experienced a shutdown due to the financial crisis and other factors, some have opened their doors again. If you fall within the former, you need to be proactive by keeping your workplace and staff safe from infections.

Although there are vaccines available and a lot of employees are required to get vaccinated, reducing the spread of diseases is essential. There are a few steps that you can take to ensure your workplace is safe enough for your employees.

Here are a few tips to help you keep your workplace safe from infections always;

1. Redesign Your Workspace

Every workplace needs a change after a while, so consider this an opportunity to switch things up. With the pandemic still recording large numbers of infected cases, it’s important for your employees to feel safe in their places of work, and you can do this by redesigning your office space for better health. To begin, put the following practices in place:

• Allow workers to work from home: The lockdown period opened the eyes of so many employers to the possibility of virtual work processes. You should leverage this and allow your workers to stay home while monitoring their progress. Many employers have made this a shift where some workers can stay home while others work.
• Ensure there is a physical distance between employees at the office: Since the virus spreads through the air, the more space between two employees, the less risk of spreading infections. There should be at least a 1.5m space between employees at the office and you can achieve this via seating arrangements.

2. Employ a Cleaning Service

Making sure your workplace is clean and sanitary for your employees is an important part of curbing the spread of the virus. The virus remains on surfaces such as desks, telephones, keyboards, etc.

What’s the best way to ensure your workplace is clean than relying on the services of a professional? According to the team behind glenn-group.co.uk,  a professional cleaning service will help with deep cleaning and disinfecting every area in your workplace. With their cleaning and disinfecting expertise, you won’t need to worry about keeping your workplace free of viruses.

Proper research or referral will enable you to find a good cleaning service to help keep the work environment as clean as possible at all times.

3. Educate Your Employees About The Virus

Everyone should be knowledgeable about what the COVID-19 virus is and how it spreads by now. But, a regular brief to keep them updated and alert isn’t a bad route to take. If anything, it will help them make a more conscious effort to reduce the spread of any infection.

To keep your employees up to speed about the virus, here are a few tips you can try:

• Consider creating an online training video about COVID-19 infection control: An online training video explaining what the virus is, how the virus spreads and debunking any myths will be valuable to your employees. It will also help with knowing the right steps to take when there’s a potential infection.
• Put up signs and posters about the risks of COVID-19 infections and how to curb its spread: An online video is great, but posters are easily accessible and a great reminder every minute of your work shift.

4. Promote Regular Sanitary Practices

In addition to hiring the services of a cleaning organization, your employees also need to put in the work. After all, you and your employees will be in the workplace most of the time. Hence, you need to do most of the work when it comes to keeping the area sanitary.

You should promote sanitary practices such as:

• Ensure staff wash their hands periodically as they work
• Make hand run sanitizers available in prominent areas where employees can have access to them
• Clean desks, computers, keyboards, etc., with sanitizing wipes regularly to prevent any spread
• Place posters around reminding your employees about these practices

5. Promote Good Respiratory Hygiene In Your Workplace

A huge part of keeping your work environment safe for your employees is making sure they are healthy. And the only way to achieve this is by reminding them of ways to keep their health at an optimal level. You can make this possible by:

• Providing face masks and paper towels for employees who fall ill or develop a cold
• Making sure all offices have closed bins for disposing of used paper towels hygienically
• Occasional briefs about improving respiratory health and cleaning up properly

It’s crucial to always remind your employees to stay home if they develop a mild fever or symptoms similar to that of COVID-19.

The pandemic is yet to be eradicated, which makes it essential for your work environment to be safe and hygienic for employees. Be sure to follow the tips mentioned above and keep your employees safe all the time.