From everything we’re hearing on the news it looks like the sat nav for the return to office life has been set. Yes, just like any journey, there may be some detours and delays, but the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown seems to be firmly focussed on returning to some form of normality in 2021. Which means that businesses who haven’t already called their team members back to the office should now begin preparing. No matter whether you are considering a full-scale return, phased return, or introduction of hybrid working, being properly prepared will reduce stress for both you and your staff.
Health and Safety obligations
Businesses have a legal obligation to protect the health and safety of both staff and visitors and in a world where Covid-19 and its many variants still exists, this is even more pertinent than before. Aside from the fact that no business wants to risk a closure as a result of isolating due to a Covid-19 outbreak, making sure that a workplace is Covid-safe is also good for staff mental health and wellbeing.
Businesses should risk assess their surroundings to ensure that the workplace is safe for employees to return to. This should include improved cleaning procedures, guidelines on wearing masks, and office layout changes. Additionally, they should regularly review the risk assessment as testing and vaccinations become more widespread whilst keeping an eye on when rules are due to be lifted, the earliest date on the roadmap is 21st June.
People over the age of 18 are now able to sign up to receive free rapid lateral flow tests which can be collected from a local pharmacy and staff members should be encouraged to take part in this programme.
Consult with employees
We also advise consulting with employees to find out how they feel about returning to the workplace. Listening to their concerns can help a business sensitively navigate the return whilst ensuring that its team members feel comfortable. Some staff may feel unsafe about commuting during rush hour for example, a solution for which could be staggering working hours or creating on/off shift patterns. Others may question the need to return to the office fulltime if they have been perfectly productive working from home. In these cases, it may be advisable to consider some flexibility or a hybrid working model with workdays split between home and the office. Doing this can also help to reduce the number of people on site, improving social distancing measures.
Consider mental health and wellbeing
The last twelve months have been difficult and hard for everyone and will have had an impact on staff mental health and wellbeing. This week saw the publication of two interesting pieces of research. The first, published in The Lancet, reports that one in three survivors of severe Covid will be diagnosed with a mental health condition. While this could directly affect some of your staff members, it is also worth remembering that they could also be impacted by family members who are now living with ‘Long Covid’ and related conditions.
The second piece of research, published in HR News, found that 37% of business managers had sought mental health support in the last year, with 52% of those questioned responding that they had seen relationships deteriorate due to work stress.
It may be advisable to introduce a programme that helps to support the wellbeing of staff members as they return to work (and beyond). This can range from ensuring that everyone feels comfortable with the skills that they need to do their jobs to introducing improved communications channels.
For many businesses this is now an opportunity to be proactive after over a year of making reactive decisions. Putting the right processes and procedures in place now, can ultimately create a better business environment than you had before. As ever the team at Dakota Blue Consulting are here to support businesses owners in preparing their workplaces for a return to work. Whether you need help with risk assessments, bespoke training and wellbeing support, or just need help with the logistics, get in touch.