What seemed to be a year with great potential for the development of many industries, turned out to have a rough start. In the beginning, it seemed that it was only flu. However, it rapidly became a world pandemic and forced many countries to take lockdown measures.
Because it can be deadly for some humans and of its rapid spread, millions of people worldwide were forced to stay home, work remotely, learn online different courses, and limit their physical contact. This was a harsh hit too many industries whose activity depends on customers.
Many people began working remotely, which comes with its pros and cons. While some enjoy the comfort of their own home and are more productive, others cannot find their flow. Working remotely may become more popular after this coronavirus pandemic goes away.
And, likely, things will not return to their previous state. More and more people are more aware of their behaviors and the importance of hygiene. Working, dining, going out in a club will likely be pretty different from before. We will need to keep the physical distance for quite a few time.
So, how can organizations prepare for the post-lockdown period? More and more countries are beginning to relax quarantine measures as the number of cases drops, and this means that little by little businesses can reopen. But there are strict hygiene measures that need to be taken to stop the spread of the virus and many organizations need to follow them.
This means that working will not be like before. Businesses, organizations, employees, and customers have begun to establish a culture of collaboration
where they gather novel ideas and tools to ease their work and communication.
However, you need to begin to prepare for the post-lockdown workforce. There will be lots of people searching for a job and some of them might prefer to work from the office. Slowly and with small steps, we will need to adopt healthy habits that help us be prepared for something new.
Here are some of the best habits people need to be considerate of to protect their and their families’, coworkers’ and friends’ health.
1. Maintain Remote Work, If Possible
Organizations will probably hear a lot the question “If it is going so well, why can’t we continue to work remotely?”. And you can’t blame people. It’s true, not all jobs can be done remotely and some require the physical presence of team members. It’s also true that some employees are not so productive when working from home, so there could be pros and cons.
However, because this coronavirus pandemic forced organizations, governments, universities, and schools to adapt, most of them shifted their activity online. And it will probably be like this for some time.
If your business can’t be operational without the physical presence of some of your employees, make sure that you take the necessary measures for their safety. Encourage your workforce to work from home as much as possible.
2. Gather a Team of Specialists from Every Department
Every department manager knows its teams and people. He knows also how the business is organized and how the industry is evolving in these uncertain times. The best thing you can do is to gather a team of specialists from every department.
It is unlikely that there is a domain or department that is not affected by the world pandemic. Departments such as HR, PR, communication, or production are among the most affected ones.
Conduct online meetings and make a plan that will help you optimize your activity depending on different scenarios. Prepare adequate measures that might need to be taken rapidly.
3. Encourage Employees to Follow Strict Hygiene Rules
We will not get rid of this virus if we return to working as before. The rules of greeting and interaction have changed and we all must adopt some habits to make sure we stay healthy.
Many employees will tend to be more relaxed when they begin working from the office. After at least 2 months of working from home and without any physical contact with their coworkers, people will be happy to see each other and might forget some cleanliness practices.
It is good to stress the importance of social distancing at the workplace and train your workforce to adopt healthier habits. For example, people should avoid touching their hands. Instead, you can think of a funny and novel way of greetings, such as elbow bump or foot shake.
At the same time, you should encourage your employees to stay home and avoid coming to work if they have the coronavirus symptoms. The spread of the virus must be slowed down and stopped and healthy individuals need to be protected. And we all are responsible for doing the right thing.
4. Strict Social Distancing Rules at Work
Offices of many companies and businesses are huge, and on top of this, most of them are open-space. This means that you need to find a way to limit employees from staying too close to each other.
This will be a challenging and tough thing to do. Your workforce is used to constant interactions and socializing, whether it’s during lunch, meetings, or just relaxation time.
Make sure you establish some rules to be followed by everyone. For example, if your workforce is working on shifts, be sure there is at least a one-hour gap between them to have time to disinfect the working stations.
If teams need to have meetings, make sure they have the tools and apps they need to conduct these meetings online. On the other hand, if they need to have a physical meeting, be sure you limit the number of participants. Like this, they will be able to limit the distance between them to two meters.
Worldwide, countries and specialists are working on safety measures that need to be followed after lockdown and wearing a mask in one of them. Like this, people will be more protected.
Establish limits and highlight their importance. Everyone needs to be aware of the risks of catching this disease. Organize the lunch break to be sure that there are not too many people in the same room at the same time.
5. Provide Employees with the Necessary Protection Materials
If employees need to interact with each other during their work, be sure you provide them with the necessary protection materials. For example, all employees should have facial masks and gloves. They all need to have access to hand sanitizer, cleansers, and thermal scanners.
Businesses need to pay attention to every detail of the workspace, including toilets. Toilets and kitchens are the places that are used by all the employees, so be sure both you and they follow strict hygiene rules. For example, be sure they have enough hand soap and sanitizer, as well as toilet seat sanitizers and tissue papers.
6. Limit Business Travels
After lockdown ends, many people will think that life will just return to be as before. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go until there and many things are likely to be changed forever. It will take some time until traveling will be permitted again.
However, even though airlines need to follow strict rules and limit the number of passengers, limit the business travels you and your employees might need to do. The state of the world, and every country, in particular, is quite uncertain. The coronavirus pandemic is a novel one and we still have a lot to learn about this virus. Until the number of worldwide cases will drop, it is better to protect your and your employees' health.
Conclusion
This virus changed the way we perceive wildlife, work, and health forever. People are more and more aware that they need to follow strict hygiene rules to limit the spread of this deadly virus.
Organizations and businesses need to adopt good habits and encourage their workforce to stay safe and limit gatherings. Be sure that all your employees have the necessary protection equipment, such as face masks, hand sanitizers, or gloves.
Maintain a routine in disinfecting tools and spaces that are constantly used by your workforce, such as toilets or lunch places. Maintain remote work as much as possible and find a way to measure your employees’ performance when working from home. You might be surprised by what you find.
Gather specialists and make a plan to optimize your activity depending on different scenarios. We all need to be more cautious.
