It’s up to employers to ensure that precautions and strategies are put in place to help welcome employees back and keep them there. That may include modifying the layout of your offices, such as moving workstations and seating so that staff can maintain 6 feet or more of distance from one another. If it’s impossible to do so, physical dividers such as plastic barriers and improved ventilation can help reduce the risk of disease transmission. Regular cleaning of office surfaces and following other protocols to help reduce the spread of transmittable diseases are also essential.
Making sure that employees are healthy can help reduce the risk to everyone, yet most employers want to do so in a way that is not disruptive or invasive. For example, employers should have policies that promote staying at home when employees feel unwell. They can also ask employees to fill out simple self-certification forms to confirm that they feel healthy and haven’t been knowingly exposed to a communicable disease.
Some workplaces use thermographic equipment to detect elevated skin temperatures among people in a group, without the need to test their temperature individually. Handheld thermometers that can read the skin temperature via the forehead or wrist are another method. Other technological advances include wearable patches that monitor health information that can be shared with employers. More than half of employees say they are willing to wear such devices and share that data if it doesn’t cost anything. The accompanying resource describes more about the need for this kind of screening.
Graphic created by Northland Controls.
