Barnes & Co. has a Risk Management division called Risk Remedy. To keep you informed about issues related to COVID-19, as well as those related to protecting your work force and your business, we will be sharing the research we are doing, as well as related articles, links and resources. One of the biggest issues on every business owner’s mind is what happens now, how to be productive, profitable and keep everyone safe in our new environment. Today we are addressing Getting Back to Work.
Residents of most states have been under stay-at-home orders for a month or longer. Recently, however, a few states have partially reopened or plan to reopen selected businesses. For the rest of the country the timing has yet to be determined. So, although we may not know exactly and when this reopening will take place, there are steps that employers can take to be ready when that day comes.
One thing we have learned about living and working in the time of a pandemic is that we must be flexible. Because the onset was so sudden, most employers were caught unprepared for the severe and immediate impact that the COVID-19 virus would have on their business. In an ideal world, life and business would return to normal in a few weeks. Unfortunately, that isn’t likely. I encourage you to focus on what you CAN do, how your business can respond to the necessary changes, and most of all, be willing to chart a different course if things change, because they probably will.
As the country begins this painstaking process of re-opening and resuming “business as usual,” the best thing you as an employer can do is to stay informed. Make it a habit to check the following websites each day to get updates on the Coronavirus.
Symptoms of Coronavirus – The most current list of symptoms of COVID-19 issued by the CDC. The list was just updated to include an additional 6 symptoms.
CDC Guidelines for Employers – An extensive resource for businesses on ways to plan, prepare and respond to the pandemic.
CORONAVIRUS.GOV – Joint White House, CDC and FEMA website
COVID19.CA.GOV – State of California COVID response website
California Department of Public Health – COVID-19 updates from CDPH
Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 – Essential guidance from OSHA
According to OSHA, there are levels of occupational risk ranging from Very High to Low. Below is a summary of each level to help you determine the risk level of your employees being exposed to the COVID-19 virus in the normal course of doing business.
Very High and High exposure risk jobs are those with high potential for exposure to known or suspected sources of COVID-19 during specific medical, postmortem, or laboratory procedures.
Medium exposure risk jobs include those that require frequent and/or close contact (within 6 feet) with people who may be infected with the virus, but who are not known to be COVID-19 patients. Workers in this category may have contact with the general public (those who work at grocery stores, pharmacies or other retail settings).
Lower exposure risk jobs are those that do not require contact with people known to be, or suspected of being, infected with the virus nor frequent close contact with (i.e., within 6 feet of) the general public. Workers in this category have minimal occupational contact with the public and other coworkers.
For the majority of us our occupational risk is low or medium. Perhaps you have a retail location or service-based business that may reopen in the next few weeks, or you are an office-based business whose employees have been working from home, and you want to get them back into the office. The question is, how do you get your business back up and running while protecting yourself and your employees?
The answer is that you continue to use the recommendations of the CDC to prevent the spread of the virus, that is, through social distancing, vigilant personal hygiene, thorough sanitizing of work spaces, and wearing a face covering/mask.
Let’s start with social distancing, no doubt the hardest obstacle to reopening most businesses. There are a couple of ways to approach social distancing at work. The first is to reduce the number of employees or customers allowed into your workplace at a given time. (Some states are using a 25% of capacity guideline).
If yours is an office-based business that needs to improve social distancing, consider staggering work shifts, or allow employees to work ½ time at home and the other ½ in the office, so that you will have fewer people working in close proximity. Minimize contact by continuing to use virtual meetings, or have them in larger offices to allow for distancing.
You will want to establish a wellness protocol to prevent employees from coming into work if they may be infected. This would include a mandatory daily health check-in for all employees to report their temperature and any symptoms before coming into work.
Employers should provide resources that promote good personal hygiene, such as tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, hand sanitizer with a pump, paper towels and disinfectant wipes.
Mandate a workplace cleaning protocol. OSHA has said that their COVID-19 guidelines are based on traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices. However, there are additional steps that you will want to implement, such as wiping down common surface areas, doors and phones throughout the day. Remove magazines from your waiting area, and switch to disposable cups or bottled water for visitors.
Enforce mask use at all times. In California and many other states, face coverings are required in public. Following this guideline in the workplace will be mandatory.
Finally, listen to your employees and their concerns. Everyone is going to be nervous about returning to work, so we all need to be considerate of each other’s personal space, and everyone must play a role to ensure that we can all go back to work as quickly, and safely, as possible.