As we slowly return to a new normal, many employees are tentatively returning to their place of work with a mix of anticipation, excitement and anxiety.
What are the new rules for coming into the office?
The impact of COVID has changed the way we work and the way the workplace operates. Never before has there been so much prominence placed on office protocol, with an emphasis on keeping employees and colleagues safe.
Employers have a clear duty of care to their staff to ensure every health and safety measure is considered and practically implemented to look after the health and wellbeing of its workforce.
There are various levels of protocol dependent on sector, environment and the numbers of staff on-site, this said however, there appears to be an emerging number of guiding principles that formulate a new set of rules to coming into the workplace. If the rules are followed, collectively we can reduce the spread of the virus and protect our colleagues and their families.
Below we have summarised some of those new guiding principles that are being implemented for all employees to observe when coming into the office.
- Individuals must have their own PPE on them. This can range from a face mask, visor to hand sanitiser
- Colleagues must keep their distance from each other and may have new working patterns such as staggered starts to facilitate this.
- Staff must participate in frequent hand-washing.
- Co-workers should avoid sharing equipment and stationary.
- Individuals must only make themselves a drink and food mustn’t be shared either.
- Colleagues must be considerate and not come to the workplace if they are displaying symptoms of COVID.
The first 5 guiding principles can all be implemented with relative ease as long as all staff have the respect to follow them. The last rule is harder to manage as how do employers keep a track of their staff’s health status on a daily basis?
This is where the new Safe For Work app can support businesses to do just that.
The app enables employees to complete a brief questionnaire before work, to report their current health status. The answers provided are then processed to determine whether the employee is safe to work that day or if the responses breach the health and safety guidelines of the business.
The app can complement safeguarding measures already in place within businesses, offering employers and employees extra peace of mind and reassurance that everyone who is at work, is in fact safe to work.
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