As restrictions continue to lift and loosen, you may be thinking about reopening your doors. If you have workers returning to the job site, we have a few suggestions for keeping them safe.
- Observe the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on hand-washing and sanitizing. Post signs around the workplace, reminding employees to wash frequently. Encourage employees to wear a face mask at all times, as feasible.
- Sanitize everything, including surfaces, door handles, and commonly-used tools like keyboards, pens, or even card readers. The CDC recommends starting with soap and water, and following up with an EPA-approved disinfectant.
- Keep a safe distance—COVID-19 can be spread through saliva and mucus carried in coughs and sneezes. Experts recommend maintaining a 6-foot (2-meter) distance between yourself and others, to reduce the risk of contamination. Office workers may want to consider increasing the distance between desks or leaving desks between workers empty.
- Limit the number of employees in your physical workplace to maintain the appropriate distance between workers. Consider bringing employees back in waves rather than all at once. Stagger shifts to limit close employee contact.
- Rethink common areas. Remove shared seating areas, reduce shared objects, like coffee creamer containers and other breakroom staples, and leave doors and windows open to improve ventilation.
- Implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices. Ensure sick leave policies are consistent with public health guidance.