Whether your employees return to work this fall/winter or wait until next spring/summer, you should (if you haven't already) start your planning process now. (Image: Shutterstock)
An estimated 62% of employed Americans are still working from home because of COVID-19. That means across the country, HR leaders and their trusted partners are trying to adapt to this new normal while also formulating plans to eventually bring most (if not all, in some cases) employees back to the workplace.
According to a study by McKinsey & Company, employers expect most employees to return by the end of 2020. But, as HR leaders are you confident your employer can bring employees back to work safely? More importantly, are you prepared to help them?
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The following is a specific checklist of items you can use to keep employee wellbeing top-of mind as you start (or continue) your return-to-work planning:
1. Create a daily questionnaire to ensure employees are symptom-free.
This step accomplishes two objectives. First, it shows employees you are serious about creating a workspace they can feel safe returning to. Second, it helps you quickly identify any high-risk individuals. Administer the questionnaire as employees enter the workplace (or better yet, from home via app/online), asking a few brief questions about symptoms, exposure, travel, etc. In total, this process should take 15 minutes or less for employees.
2. Offer a dedicated phone line for confidential, real-time support.
This line should be used to address both overall health as well as well-being topics, including COVID-19, nutrition, physical activity, stress, sleep, tobacco, financial wellness, weight management and risk reduction. It's a critical step to ensuring employees feel supported—and heard—as they return to work.
3. Introduce internal contact tracing to help prevent and reduce spread within your organization.
This is another step that demonstrates your commitment to safety and allows you to offer support for employees who test positive for COVID-19. This internal contract tracing will allow you to follow up with employees who may have been exposed and provide them with resources and next steps around: quarantining (how long?), visiting a physician (where to go for medical help?), testing (where to go and how much will it cost?), and criteria for returning to work (what steps do you need to do to come back to work?).
4. Designate an on-site return-to-work coordinator who will work closely with employees.
Make sure you're taking into account your workplace culture and COVID-19 protocols, to help individuals navigate changes, adapt and transition back to work as smoothly as possible. Remember, since the pandemic, more than one-in-three Americans show clinical signs of anxiety. Having this go-to resource for employees can offer tremendous peace of mind.
Additional measures to consider include:
- On-site temperature checks – Clear employees for work or redirect them according to your workplace policies.
- COVID-19 testing – Conduct this either on-site before entering your facility, or at home with new home kits.
- Workplace ergonomic assessments – Address risks factors of their "new" environment back at work.
- Flu vaccines – Very important right now as we head into flu season; you could offer these on-site or via vouchers.
Whether your employees return to work this fall/winter or wait until next spring/summer, you should (if you haven't already) start your planning process now. Use this list as a starting point to help create a safe and healthy workplace for your employees.
Through this work, you can help address employee wellbeing, reduce the spread of COVID-19 in your workforce, and maintain healthy business operations and reduce lost productivity. That's the kind of win/win/win we all need right now.
Damon Sgrignoli is the chief sales officer at HealthFitness.
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