By Sushant Reddy, Co-Founder & CEO, Arvi
The number of coronavirus cases is continuing to rise. It is affecting every aspect of our personal and work life. However, with the ease in restrictions, the economy is restarting and many businesses are planning to reopen their physical workplace. Going back to offices amidst COVID-19 will not be the same for employees as it was before the lockdown. Employers and the employees need to adapt to the ‘New Normal’ while adhering to the safety norms.
Getting back to offices has many practical implications on the health and safety of the employees. ‘According to an international survey report, almost 84 percent of employees are concerned to work onsite for the remainder of 2020.’ To exterminate the chances of employees being exposed to infection, employers are required to be proactive in developing their organizational plans to ensure health and safety.
With complete social distancing obligations and other preventive measures directed by health officials, many employers are modifying their workspaces. They are introducing new sanitization practices and adopting advanced technology solutions to keep their people safe at the workplace.
Keeping up Morale
The ongoing pandemic is disrupting the way organizations work. Companies are inducing new rules and policies with limited social interaction that results in the disengagement and low productivity of employees. Apart from this, many employees feel insecure about their jobs and financial health due to continuous layoffs in the market. At this time, the employers and talent managers must share a few words of encouragement to ensure their well-being. Instead of keeping them in dark, the leaders must take the forefront to build trust and connection with their employees and help them feel credible and safer.
Before getting back to the work onsite, employers must develop new strategies to boost employees’ productivity and engagement. They will be re-joining after a long remote work policy. Thus, creating a clear channel of communication is imperative to encourage belongingness and motivation. Additionally, embedding strong relationship building activities while following social distancing norms could prove to be one of the better ways to go forward amidst COVID-19.
Redesigning leave policies
Several ethical companies have tweaked their leave policies to ensure employees’ well-being. The exceptional leave policy includes ‘special leaves’ for those who need to self-quarantine and stay in self-isolation if they are doubtful of being exposed to coronavirus infection. It helps in delivering an exceptional employee experience. Additionally, employers are developing new payroll models to ensure their salary is not affected while taking preventive measures.
Witnessing the continued impact of COVID-19, employers are making long-term adjustments for their employees. Many employers are expecting increased demand for work-from-home options from employees facing family health issues or difficulty in commuting. Companies are advised to amend their work and leave policies and offer special provisions to retain talent in this uncertain period.
Installing intelligent technologies
Companies are going through an extreme digital transformation phase not only to work remotely but also at the physical workspace. Employers are realising the immediate need for adopting technology-based solutions to promote hygiene and safety practices inside the premises. Many AI-based start-ups are also playing a significant role to contain the spread of the virus at the workplace.
Companies are adopting contactless access at the entry and exit of the office space. Additionally, they are installing attendance trackers combined with facial recognition and thermal screening to detect persons with high temperatures as well as those violating requirements to wear masks. Moreover, contactless thermal scanning kiosks with features such as auto-sanitization, temperature, blood oxygen, pulse, and respiration rate screening with no human intervention are also in demand to lower the risk of virus transmission.
The ongoing pandemic has made companies explore new ways of working. From scheduling shifts to rethinking the way meetings happen, employers are adapting to everything for their employees’ health and safety. Employers are modifying their workplaces to adhere to social distancing norms. They are adopting regular sanitization practices, providing training to follow new rules of working, redefining the recruitment process, and being strict with sick people at work. While returning to work onsite, adjusting to ‘New Normal’ is the only key to working effectively.
