Returning to the office post-Covid 19

Entering the post-COVID world may seem as daunting as lockdown itself. And, as an office manager, you will have many questions about the health and safety of your workforce as you prepare to welcome them back.

Let’s take a look at what you can do to minimise COVID-19 infection in the workplace, and help you feel prepared to throw open those office doors once again.

Continue physical distancing

We’ve been practising the art of keeping our distance for months, so this one shouldn’t be too difficult. The current advice is to keep a distance of 1.5 metres between other people, so move your workstations to comply with this rule. If you don’t have space to do this, you can install plexiglass barriers to protect employees. You can also instruct workers to walk round the office in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise pattern. It doesn’t matter which, as long as it’s in one direction.

Ramp up the hygiene

Again, we’ve all had plenty of practice cleaning, scrubbing and sanitising, so continue your regime to keep the office squeaky clean. Make sure your workplace is cleaned at least once a day with detergent and water. When your surfaces are thoroughly clean, they can be disinfected. Pay special attention to surfaces that are touched frequently, such as door handles and light switches.

Advise your employees to frequently wipe down their workstation and personal equipment such as their phone and keyboard with disinfectant wipes.

Make sure you have information displayed near sinks about proper handwashing, and encourage your employees to wash their hands frequently, particularly after using the loo, after coughing or sneezing and before eating.

Think out of the box

As well as the obvious attention to physical distancing and hygiene, there are some ingenious ways to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and other infections in the workplace.

• Stagger your employees’ return to work so the office doesn’t get too crowded straight away.
• Allow employees to work from home for part of the week.
• Encourage workers to take their lunch breaks in your outside space, if you have it.
• Continue to hold meetings virtually to minimise person-to-person contact.

Embrace the new normal

Finally, don’t be afraid to embrace the new normal. We’ve spent months isolated and fearful, so why not see the return to the office and a change of routine as a reason to celebrate and start afresh in this brave new world?

For more information on safe return-to-work practices, see the Safe Work Australia guidelines.