COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the world, and many businesses have been forced to downsize or close entirely. This has led to drastic job loss and fear among employees nationwide. As a result, companies that have continued to operate have striven to make it a priority to keep their workers safe by limiting employees’ risk of exposure to COVID-19. Thankfully, there are great resources and strategies available to help you with this effort. Here’s what you need to know.
Sanitation
Due to the contagious nature of COVID, it’s necessary to sanitize your business regularly. Set a cleaning schedule with clear guidelines and stick to it. Employees will feel better seeing management taking an active role in their safety. Consider the following.
- Regularly disinfect high-touch areas such as doorknobs, push bars, handles, light switches, carts/baskets, and touchscreens.
- Deep clean common areas at least once a week while utilizing proper PPE.
- Provide hand sanitizer and masks at the entrance of the building to encourage customers and employees to stay safe.
- Provide personal hand sanitizer for any employees who can’t leave their workstations throughout the day.
Sanitation is an important part of COVID prevention. Make sure that, as a business manager, you’re doing everything within your power to keep your company germ-free. This will help limit employees’ risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Employee Responsibility
No matter how much you sanitize your company, you can’t be safe for your employees. They need to take some level of responsibility in protecting themselves. Encourage your team to take proper precautions against COVID-19 by wearing their masks, social distancing, and keeping their hands clean.
To help encourage and enforce proper care, consider implementing a contest or incentive program. This not only helps employees adhere to recommended guidelines but also helps keep morale up.
Monitoring Your Company
While you can keep the surfaces of your company sanitized and you can encourage employees to stay safe, you still need to monitor your team on some level. One of the biggest downsides of running a business is dealing with employees who don’t want to follow rules.
Instead of blindly trusting your team to be safe and do what’s right, schedule times to do a walkthrough of the company and visually assess their level of safety. Penalize employees who aren’t wearing masks correctly or social distancing when possible. While this may result in complaints, it is solely for the benefit and protection of your employees.
Another practical way of monitoring your employees is to have a temperature check station at the front door. When employees show up for their shift, their temperature can be taken, and they can be asked about any symptoms they may be showing. Then, at the discretion of management, they can be sent for testing or home to rest.
While many practices are limiting employees’ risk of exposure to COVID-19, it essentially boils down to awareness and responsibility. Understand and communicate with your employees the dangers and risks of COVID, and encourage them to take personal responsibility to stay safe.
How Can We Help?
Work Health Solutions offers comprehensive healthcare solutions for your medical needs. Our qualified team treats patients and employers alike and always provides top-quality service. We back our quality service with years of experience working with academic and research institutions, corporate healthcare, Fortune 25 companies, small governments, and local businesses. Reach out today with any questions you may have about how we can assist you!
