With restrictions due to being lifted here in the UK over the summer, it seems that the end is in sight for virtual working. Returning back to the office and the workplace presents a unique set of challenges for business owners. How will you manage employee emotions and anxiety surrounding the re-entrance into group life? How will you have to adjust the working environment to keep in line with current regulations? And, what steps do you need to implement in order to keep the working environment as safe as possible?
When Will You Plan the Return to the Office?
The current recommendations for employees to work from home, where possible, is expected to be lifted around June 2021. From this point, there will be a need to facilitate the return in line with COVID-secure guidance. Employers should have some flexibility in their decision – the pandemic has caused a high degree of stress and worry.
Understandably, returning to work may feel worrying for many people. Equally, employers can take their own stance, allowing employees to work from home if needed and supporting a hybrid working set-up.
How to Organise Safety Post-Lockdown
The key thing to consider when organising the return to work is safety – the working environment needs to be set up to reduce the risk of virus spread. Therefore, the recommendations are to consider a detailed risk assessment that takes into account areas that currently create employee clusters, high-traffic or those with high-touch areas. You need to take into account things such as whether employees can maintain the required social distancing during their work and whether multiple-person touch can be reduced in certain areas.
How Can Safety Signs Help?
Here at Lasting Impressions, we’re doing everything we can to support businesses as they look to return to face-to-face work. To do so, we’ve devised a selection of COVID/Social Distancing signs that are tailored to corporate needs. These include everything from hygiene signs to encourage regular handwashing through to temporary anti-slip floor graphics that reinforce social distancing. The specific needs of your business will depend on the unique environment and employee roles. However, we recommend considering safety signs for areas such as:
- At the entrance and exit to your building, consider hand washing and hand sanitising signs.
- In the canteen, consider social distancing signs.
- In the workplace, consider directional signing to reinforce new working spaces.
All of our Lasting Impressions signs are designed to meet your needs, with easy wipe-clean surfaces and clear information that will be legible by all. If you have any questions or would like support designing your post-lockdown employee return, please do get in contact today.
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