When stay at home orders begin to expire, businesses will start opening back up, but they will not look the same way as in pre-Covid-19 times. While this may be a step in the right direction, the Covid-19 pandemic will change how businesses will operate for the foreseeable future. Every business will need to adjust their office policies to keep employees and the clients they serve safe and healthy.
Below is a checklist of things to consider when you start thinking about reopening your office:
• Deep Cleaning- You might even request your landlord have a deep cleaning of the common areas of your office building as well.
• Install barriers – For example clear or plastic sneeze guards depending on your office layout.
• Notify employees of the preparations you are taking, and keep the communication forthcoming.
• Remind employees to stay home when sick or if they have been around someone that is sick.
• Ask employees to wear masks in shared areas. They can determine if they want to wear them at their desks or personal office area.
• Ask employees to wash hands frequently and/or use antibacterial hand wash. Require they do so upon entering the office space.
• Consider if you would like to take employee temperatures at the beginning of their shift.
• Conference rooms- Limit the number of people that can be in them. A good idea would be to remove excess chairs or stack them away.
• Set out cleaning wipes by all shared office equipment.
• Ask everyone to eat at their private work stations and not gather in a break room or kitchen area.
• Limit the number of employees that can enter the break/kitchen area.
• Food- If you provide food to employees make sure everything is single servings and individually wrapped. No shared containers or communal food.
• If you provide lunches or celebration meals consider only getting individually boxed meals for each person.
• Come up with a schedule to alternate days of working in the office to reduce the number of people in the office on a given day.
• Limit in-person meetings in the office and at client locations by continuing to use technology to conduct meetings.
• Provide education to employees by keeping them up-to-date on Covid-19 related issues and how they affect their job functions and office.
It takes every one of us to help stop the spread of this virus, we have done a great job thus far, let’s stay vigilant and bring people back to the office in as safe of a way as we possibly can.
