How to maintain a healthy company work environment
Physical separation and increased distance spacing between interacting workers as well as customers:
- Set up work stations to ensure that employees are able to maintain a six feet distance from fellow employees.
- Stagger working hours, breaks and vacation times in order to reduce the exposure of employee contact.
- Rearrange work space areas and break rooms in order to increase social distance between workers.
- Utilize alternative methods of communication such as texting, zoom meetings or virtual chat, phone calls, and increased emailing in order to reduce in person contact.
- Go virtual with office meetings and employee trainings. When in face meetings are required, ensure more between attendees.
- Limit employees meeting with our medical waste collectors when we arrive to pick up your biohazardous waste.
- Place COVID information posters regarding coughing and sneezing recommendations as well as recommended hand washing practices as well as minimizing touching items.
- Provide employees with no-touch receptacles as well as hand sanitizer stations, wipes and tissues for all employees or visitors.
- Disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the office. Use disinfectant products that meet the EPA’s criteria for SARS-CoV-2external use, proper household bleach solutions, 70% alcohol minimum solutions and appropriate surface disinfectants.
- Clean and disinfect areas regularly, and especially before/after each shift, especially if supplies, workstations or vehicles are being shared.
- Clean employee break rooms, restrooms and other common areas by using an outdoor cleaning vendor if needed.
- Educate employees so that they expect nightly deep cleaning to occur in their workspace after they leave for the day.
- Always keep on top of and follow all applicable worker safety and health federal regulations, as well as local public health guidelines.
- Designate a specific employee who will be responsible for managing any COVID-19 concerns which employees may wish to discuss. Workers must be informed on who this point of contact is and how to reach them.
- An anonymous hotline for employees may help workers or concerned people voice their opinions or issues for better feedback.
- Flexible work scheduling which can allow employees to perform their tasks remotely will help reduce unnecessary contact.
- Provide very flexible sick leave policies. Non-punitive emergency sick leave policies should be extended to all employees. They should not be required to provide a positive COVID-19 test result in order to validate them or qualify for sick leave hours. Nor should they be required to immediately return to work.
- If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, the employer should make fellow employees aware of any possible work place exposure to COVID-19, while maintaining complete employee confidentiality as required by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act.)
- Always maintain proper, uninterrupted paper towels, water, soap and disinfectant gel or wipes for all employees.
- Place hand sanitizers in several high visibility locations in order to encourage proper and frequent hand hygiene.
Ensuring a healthy business environment for employees during COVID-19 will keep your company as safe as possible, and demonstrate the importance of this situation to your employees in order to foster best practices that will not only occur on the job, but hopefully continue while your employees are off site as well.