How to Prepare for the Coronavirus at Work
The novel coronavirus is changing life as we know it. Businesses are grinding to a standstill, and the work from home model is now more popular than ever. However, some employees can’t enjoy the benefit of working at home and the businesses are still functional.
There are steps you can take to prepare for the Coronavirus at work and reduce the risk of contamination and infection by the virus at the workplace. Keep in mind that these tips should be practised regularly and frequently to be effective.
Scrub down, sanitize and disinfect
Have the cleaning crew thoroughly clean the office space. The cleaning and disinfecting should include the floors, the walls, surfaces like tabletops and work desks, appliances like telephones, computers, and even microwaves.
Like other Coronavirus, this novel Coronavirus is affected by soap and water, UV rays, bleach and alcohol-based cleaners. You can use either of these to disinfect all surfaces and appliances around the office.
Educate and communicate
You don’t have to wait until you have a case in your office to talk to your employees on the steps and precautions to take to prevent the spread of novel Coronavirus.
Providing your employees with the relevant information sooner allows them to observe the precautions properly and with the seriousness it deserves. It’s essential to communicate any updates continually and have reminders all over the office.
Over and above the precautions, it’s also essential to inform your employees of the necessary steps to take in case they suspect they might be infected.
Provide hand sanitizer at the entrance and work stations
To prevent potential contamination from the outside environment, provide an alcohol-based sanitizer at the main entrance, at every other entrance and exit within the workplace as well as at the employees’ workstation.
Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer limits the transfer of the virus by making the surface of your hands inhabitable or destroying the virus in case you had already touched a contaminated surface.
It’s important to ensure you have supervision at the entrances to make sure everyone coming into the office uses the hand sanitizer.
Rearrange the workplace
You don’t necessarily have to remodel, but you should rearrange the workstations so that employees are at least one meter from each other. This limits direct contamination from the airborne cough droplets.
Rearranging the office space will also reduce congestion and improve airflow quality, both of which play a significant role in preventing the spread of the virus and improving the safety of the workers.
Having to rearrange might mean getting additional space or having non-essential staff working from home. While this might come at a cost, it is a step worth taking.
The Takeaway
Business in fields like restaurants and fast-food chains might have to offer services for as long as possible. In such cases, it’s vital to prepare for the Coronavirus at work to prevent exposing the employees as well as your customers.
These tips provide you with a decent plan of action that you and your employees can take to provide a clean and safer work environment.
Keep safe and get in touch with our commercial cleaning team in Sheffield.
