COVID-19: Helping your people feel safe when returning to work

No matter how much preparation your business has done in terms of implementing Health & Safety measures, there’s a chance that your people might still feel anxious about returning to work.

People in Britain have become increasingly concerned about returning to work safely during the coronavirus outbreak, new research suggests. According to a poll conducted by the Office for National Statistics , one in five (20%) adults who said the pandemic is affecting their work said they have health and safety concerns. This figure has risen from 11% the previous week.

It’s important to remember that it’s natural for your people to have concerns over their health and safety when they return to work. As their employer, you’re responsible for providing a safe environment for your employees by implementing social distancing and other safety measures.

One of the best ways to reassure your people is through open and honest communication. If your employees have been working from home, or have been furloughed, try giving them a call to check-in, but to also canvas opinion about how they feel about the prospect of returning. It also helps empower people to engage with a culture of Health & Safety.

Having a good social distancing policy in place will reassure your people that their safety is your priority, calming any nerves or anxiety about returning. And remember, it’s important to communicate exactly what is required of people when trying to maintain physical distancing.

Where possible, you should maintain two-metre distancing between people by:

• putting up signs to remind workers and visitors of social distancing guidance
• avoiding sharing workstations
• using floor tape or paint to mark areas to help people keep to a two-metre distance
• arranging one-way traffic through the workplace if possible
• switching to seeing visitors by appointment only if possible

You may be well aware that your business can’t reopen unless it’s COVID-compliant so to make sure you’ve got the correct social distancing measures in place, you can download our five-point action plan to clarify what steps you need to be taking.

Before reopening, every business must conduct a COVID-secure risk assessment, to prove that you’ve taken the necessary steps to make your workplace safe for both staff and customers to return.

One of the most important aspects of correctly carrying out the COVID-secure risk assessment is to go through the process in collaboration with your employees.

Working with your employees’ input on your risk assessment will not only help them feel more secure and valued, but it also creates a culture of active Health & Safety and empowers your people to take Health & Safety measures seriously.

As you’re completing your COVID-secure risk assessment, you may want to assess your need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and/or Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) – specifically face coverings. If your risk assessment find that your business should introduce PPE/RPE, there are a few things you need to consider:

• updating employee handbooks to include the use of PPE/RPE
• proper training so your people know how to use PPE/RPE
• providing the PPE/RPE to your employees for free

To further prevent the spread of coronavirus, you must also look at how your people are travelling to work, how much face-to-face interaction their role consists of and if it’s not possible to socially distance in some circumstances, what alternative can you offer to them.

Can you introduce staggered work hours to reassure staff members? Another measure you can take to reassure your people is by looking into staggering work times wherever possible. This helps to avoid any unnecessary contact between your employees and limits the number of people in your building at once.

It’s also worth keeping some of your employees working from home if they can fulfil their role remotely.

You should take all reasonable steps to help people work from home by:

• discussing home working arrangements
• ensuring they have the right equipment, for example, remote access to work systems
• including them in all necessary communications
• looking after their physical and mental wellbeing