Reassuring Your Staff Members Returning To Work: Top Tips

With the government having just announced that it will be phasing in plans for ending the lockdown in England (in contrast to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have all opted for an extended period of lockdown restrictions), now’s the time for businesses to think about how they can reassure their teams that it is safe to return to work – if that’s the road they want to go down at this time.

It may well be that you decide that now isn’t the time to start getting people back into the office and, in fact, you may have found that remote working is proving so successful that you want to continue in this way, regardless of the pandemic situation.

But if you are considering reopening your place of business, it’s important to plan for a staged return to work, which is probably going to take place over a prolonged period.

No doubt your staff members will be worried and anxious about getting to work and being at work, and they will want to know what you’re doing to prioritise their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

There will be some issues you need to think about and prepare for, such as social distancing measures, which are sure to be required for the foreseeable future.

From a health and safety perspective, putting up poster and information sheets outlining the measures you’ll be implementing is wise. Position these in prominent places around your place of business, but also consider handing them out to both employees and customers that come to visit.

You will also need to carry out a risk assessment of your workplace and ensure that staff members are able to maintain a 2m distance from each other. Think about how meetings will be managed, for example, and how interviews could be carried out. The layout of communal areas will also need to be addressed.

It’s also important to think about hand hygiene and how you can implement new protective measures to minimise the spread of infection. Put up posters reminding people about the importance of regular handwashing and make sure that you have hand sanitiser available across your premises.

And don’t forget about office infrastructure and the need to keep this as clean as possible. It may be that you will need to stop hot desking as a way of working, making sure that everyone has their own station or that they work from home if this isn’t possible.

Never forget that the pandemic also poses risks to people’s mental health, as well as physical – and anxiety is sure to be rife, especially at the beginning when people start to return to work.

Making provisions to protect mental health is a must, so make sure that your staff members know who they can turn to and what they can do to help them readjust and reduce their anxiety and worries.

If you need help with Poster, Sign or Sheet music printing, get in touch with us today.