It’s still hard to believe that our planned two-week break “to flatten the curve” due to the Covid-19 outbreak has stretched on for more than 18 months. But here we are, with many offices still standing empty as business owners debate the smartest and safest way to pull their employees off their couches and back into their cubicles.
Now, for a while back there, it may have seemed that your businesses’ hard-fought policies and protocols went by the wayside as you simply struggled to survive. However, with the return to the office imminent, now is the time to take a good look at what you had in place before and earmark some time to update it and bring it into the present. In doing this, you will not only help to assuage employee concerns about the return to work but also help mitigate any liability surrounding the said return. Read on to learn how.
Take it to the top:
The first step to updating your protocols — particularly as it pertains to rules about the return to work — is to follow the guidance and recommendations made by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, your state and local departments of health, and any other applicable agencies. In reviewing these policies, particularly if they are conflicting, opt for the most stringent policies (e.g., a 6-foot social distancing rule said by one group over a 3-foot policy by another) and always pin your practice to the recommendation of the organization.
Think of your environment:
The office that you all shared back in 2020 is unlikely to be conducive to a pandemic return to work. Thus, you will want to develop policies that discuss the physical environment of your office, including but not limited to the layout (such as moving cubicles), office sharing (likely a thing of the past!), and even the use of air filters and other practices designed to ensure the flow of fresh air.
Scan your social practices:
With everyone back in the same building, it seems like a perfect time to socialize, to hold those meetings you’ve been putting off for months, or to even celebrate all those birthdays, babies, and marriages that happened while we were all in quarantine. However, you’re going to need to review your policies as it pertains to all of these social customs to ensure employee safety. Before people step foot in the office, establish expectations for meeting capacity — for each of your conference rooms or meeting spots — and think up alternative strategies for keeping it inclusive (department heads in the room, others tuning in via Zoom, perhaps?). And, when it comes to marking life’s major milestones, you’ll want to get creative about how you can safely celebrate, such as hosting virtual parties and showers.
Food for thought:
Another big part people have surely missed in working from home is the opportunity to socialize over food. Whether it’s grabbing a bite in the company lunchroom, catching up with a coworker over a pastry on bagel Friday, or simply swinging by the secretary’s desk for a handful of candy, you’ll want to have some protocols in place regarding food sharing. In general, at least for a spell, you’ll want a protocol limiting the number of people in the cafeteria and noting that social distancing rules still apply. In addition, for gatherings where food would usually be shared, you can call for boxed lunches or other pre-packaged meals to be handed out as opposed to communal meals.
Who wore what:
As we’ve touched on in previous blog posts, your policy plans should also include information on appropriate workplace attire. When employees were home, your dress code likely relaxed significantly, but if you hope to return to your business formal or even business casual roots, you’ll need to state so in your policy and provide examples of what will fly and what will flop in the post-pandemic office space. Didn’t have a policy before? Now is prime time to introduce one to head off any fashion foibles. For additional guidance, check out our previous advice on the issue here and here.
Your presence is requested:
A huge part of many companies’ back-to-work plans is figuring out a strategy for bringing people back. Few business owners are simply throwing open the doors and welcoming the masses and are instead doing a staggered start, with some companies bringing back just a few departments, or key members of departments, on an alternating schedule so that the office is never full but key groups and levels of management are represented. Whatever you choose for your company, make sure that what you decide is fair across departments and across your company as a whole and that it doesn’t discriminate against any specific groups.
Moving target:
Again, one of the trickiest things to navigate through this whole pandemic has been the notion of the unknown! In drafting these policies, make it clear to employees that these are the best practices recommended by experts, at the time the policy was written, and are thus subject to review. If and when new information is made available, let your employees know that the data will be reviewed and you will implement changes where they make sense for your specific job environment.
Put it in writing:
As with all policy changes that you implement at your company, be sure that you are disseminating the information to all of your employees in a way that you can not only ensure that they have read it, but that they have also acknowledged its receipt. In addition, you’ll want to make sure that your new policy is included in your trusty employee handbook and included in all future issues of the handbook moving forward.
