Creating a healthy and caring workplace depends on communication and continuing education.
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Companies have a moral responsibility to keep their employees safe. As of March, about 1 in 1000 people have died from COVID-related symptoms and 1 in 17 in the US has the disease. Therefore, employers need to keep Coronavirus prevention regular to help reduce the curve. Whether they choose to return to the office or stay remote, it is critical for employers to put in place safety measures to keep everyone healthy.
While employers cannot force employees to do their part, they can educate them. This can be done through
- Education about COVID-19 and how it spreads
- Providing accommodation for high risk workers
- Applying physical speed in the office
- Providing personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Providing free trial to employees
- Informing staff of the COVID case while maintaining the confidentiality of the infected person
For employees to understand the seriousness of COVID-19, leadership needs to lead by example and demonstrate genuine acceptance.
Here are three ways employers can address safety measures for a healthy workplace and free COVID-19.
Promoting safety and prevention through education
Providing proper education informs employees not only about the dangers of the Coronavirus, but how to stop it from spreading. Education is not a one-time event or a one-size-fits-all approach. For many, unless they or someone close to them has contracted COVID-19, they may not fully understand the severity of the virus. In addition, everyone has their own beliefs about COVID-19.
While employers have a responsibility to keep their employees safe, employees have a responsibility to protect themselves and others. For this reason, employers should use this opportunity to educate employees on a regular basis about safety and prevention.
They can do this with
- using a variety of contexts to help link the impact to staff life
- provides workable solutions to help employees better understand the pressures of the virus
- invites employees to share their personal experiences with the virus
- encourages leadership to exploit vulnerabilities by demonstrating how the virus has affected their lives
It is important to note that, when opening a vulnerable debate, employers should steer conversations away from political debates and keep them focused on the truth.
Education also comes in the form of vulnerability and transparency. Traditionally, the unwritten rule of the workplace was to keep your personal life out of the office. However, the new generation of employees has challenged companies and executives to be more transparent by raising awareness of difficult issues. In addition, the disease is spreading on the line between work and life as employees and managers switch to working remotely.
Thus, leaders can use this opportunity to educate by sharing their own personal experiences and pressures in addressing this pandemic. For employees to connect with their leadership team, they need to see the human side. Not only does this help employees feel like they are alone, but if a leader or a member of a director’s family is struggling with COVID-19, it will help employees understand the truth.
Provides support and resources
Now more than ever employee mental health should be a top priority for businesses. This is a very helpful time as staff seek to manage the pandemic, manage their mental health and transition to remote employment while their children are studying. -line. Mind Share Partners recently teamed up with Qualtrics and SAP to conduct a study and found that “42% of global workers have experienced a decline in mental health since the outbreak of the pandemic.”
As the pandemic continues and social and political unrest intensifies, it is difficult for individuals to cope with the uncertainty surrounding the future. As a result, this increases anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout and PTSD. Everyone’s situation is different, so their mental health experiences will vary depending on their type of work, caring and parenting responsibilities, citizenship status and economic opportunity, to name a few.
Employers can provide support through mental health monitoring, changing policies and practices to increase flexibility and create a culture that removes the stigma surrounding mental health. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a valuable resource that addresses a variety of difficult situations that employees may face. Situations can include suicidal thoughts, financial or emotional worries, family issues, substance or alcohol abuse, mental health, pet care, workplace problems and more.
In addition to facilities, many employers are changing the new recruitment swag to now include PPE as well as make sure their office is full of the essentials. These items include face masks, hand sanitizers, cleansers as well as setting up various hand washing stations throughout the office.
Setting ground rules and expectations
Now is not the time to be lenient about the results of COVID-19. Employees need to understand that complying with rules and guidelines puts everyone around them at risk. It is important to remember that employers cannot fire employees who have the Coronavirus. Doing so violates federal law that protects qualified individuals who are absent from work due to ill health. However, employees can be disciplined and terminated if they do not adhere to the rules and expectations set out for them by their employer.
Nelson Sherwin, manager of PEO Companies, said he issues verbal warnings and then a written one before terminating an employee for non-compliance. He said that companies that ignore the dangers of COVID-19 “are reckless at best and murder at worst. “At the end of the day, no matter what an employer takes action, compliance falls on the individual employee. Therefore, if an employee does not adhere to the basic rules and expectations, they are harming the health of others and should be subject to severe sanctions.
David Meltzer, owner of Eastern Insurance Group, said, “No one wants to follow protocols blindly without fully understanding them.” Linking an explanation to explain why a rule or expectation is behind is essential for compliance. Some basic rules and expectations implemented are social distance, limiting the number of people in the restroom or conference room, keeping masks on at all times, encouraging hand washing to frequently, cleaning common areas after use and alerting HR or your manager if you experience COVID -hand symptoms.