During the pandemic, many organizations have adopted new practices such as working from home, unpaid leave, or reductions in base salaries to help ride out the economic impact. For some organizations, the time has now come to test the waters and balance health and safety with employees returning to physical work locations.

Now that we are navigating the era of mass vaccinations and regular PCR testing, organizations in the UAE are ready to consider the potential opportunities and issues in facilitating a safe return to work.

This article highlights some aspects you should consider ensuring that your workplace is prepared to welcome employees back to a safe and secure environment.

1. Let your employees know what they should expect

The first critical step is to communicate clearly with all employees about what they can expect on their return to work. Setting clear expectations sets the employee’s mind at rest and clarifies workplace health and safety expectations. The type of information provided could include:

What support will be available to employees regarding psychological wellbeing, counselling, childcare, policies at workplaces and maintaining the general health of employees

Where will employees be able to find the latest information on health and safety on returning to the workplace

What are the rules and restrictions for any outsourcing companies that provide services (for example, hygiene and security)? Information should include any standards adopted (for example: wearing masks and gloves and changing them as necessary, social distancing etc.)

What are the implications for the employee and the organization of any breach in following rules and guidelines

2. Provide educational materials to support awareness

Ensure that employees are made aware of instructions and new ways of working by producing guides and training materials to support awareness. The approach taken might consist of any or all the following:

Visual, electronic and documented materials posted online and, in the workplace,

Virtual meetings

Questionnaires or surveys to understand concerns and enable targeted feedback

Socially distanced training sessions

Online learning courses

3. Ensure that core messages are clear

The core messages for all employees should be specific to their work environment and must be clear and unambiguous. Examples might include:

Wear a mask while outside the home and when in the workplace

Avoid crowded locations and follow the rules for social distancing of 2 meters

Avoid shaking hands or hugging

Wash your hands often with soap for the specified duration

Ensure that your personal workspace is kept sanitized

Respect all management and authority instructions

Spend the shortest possible time outside and face to face with colleagues

Go straight home after business hours

4. Provide any essential items for maintaining health and safety

Provide essential items to help employees maintain the necessary level of hygiene. Items required could include:

Hand and surface sanitizers

Masks

Gloves

Tissues

Additional soap supplies

Paper cups and plates

Plastic disposable utensils

Individual work trays and stationery supplies

Bins for disposal of masks and gloves



5. Organize entry and exit processes

Make necessary changes to any entry and exit protocols that exist, including:

Separating entry and exit routes to maintain social distancing

Removing any physical access devices such as fingerprints or hand scanners to reduce infection risks. Consider using facial recognition systems for building access and for monitoring the use of personal protective equipment where appropriate

Devise protocols for shared space usage such as lifts and kitchens

Stagger the start and end times for employees to avoid congestion at entry and exit points

6. Establish controls in the workplace

Put into action any controls needed in the workplace to minimize human contact and promote health and safety protocols. The areas you might want to consider include physical workplace organization as well as updated processes:

Encouraging flexible work options and staggered breaks

Daily deep cleaning and complete sanitization procedures

Marking floors for social distancing

Introducing glass or plastic barriers in customer-facing areas

Introducing disposable carpet covers

Restricting the number of employees and customers at the same time and place

Restricting entry for visitors and suppliers

Redesigning workplace layouts for traffic flow and distancing

Introducing protocols around mealtimes and food storage

Introducing health monitoring features such as temperature checks

Providing on-site access to PCR testing facilities

Setting up of protective barriers where necessary

Removing vending machines and shared equipment such as coffee makers

Moving any financial transactions from cash to online

Reducing paper-based transactions

Activate management protocols for suspected illness

Create an isolation space in case any employee falls ill during working hours

Holding meetings online only

7. Define and communicate HR and management responsibilities

Ensure that you have thought through the roles and responsibilities needed to support new activities and ensure that all the individuals involved know the consequences of a failure to adhere to safe working practices. For example:

Update all contact details for employees

Appoint a coordinator to liaise with authorities and keep up to date with requirements

Activate a hotline for queries from employees

Ensure that managers know how to spot potential COVID symptoms and are clear on any associated policies for isolating the employee, authorizing sick leave, quarantine periods, required health testing, official documentation and government notification requirements etc.

Establish and maintain an effective monitoring and reporting process that can be used to track and manage close contacts as well as provide support to any employee who becomes directly ill

Although there may seem to be a mountain of decisions to be made and numerous activities to be undertaken, it is essential that any return-to-work program me puts the health and safety of employees and customers first. All efforts made to prepare the workplace effectively will give employees and customers renewed confidence and help get your business safely back on track.

Contact us at HRBluSky today to explore how we can support you in bringing your employees back into a safe working environment.

https://hrblusky.com/