The “future of work” isn’t just remote: It’s safe 

We’ve all seen the headlines: massive companies like SalesForce, Facebook, and Twitter continue dominating the national news with stories of their workforces going entirely remote. Everyone from workers to leaders are hungry to figure out what the future of work might look like, yet so much of this conversation is about the distant future post-COVID, where every company allows every employee to work from home.

It’s true. For many of us, remote work may be the future. We can safely continue our lives from the comfort of our own spaces. But for millions of Americans, the “future of work” isn’t remote. It literally can’t be.

• Remote learning is taking a serious mental, physical, financial and emotional toll on American families. Schools need effective ways to reopen classrooms while keeping students, faculty and staff safe.
• Assisted living and senior care facilities rely on the physical presence of staff to keep our loved ones healthy. They must be able to take swift action to prevent community spread and protect those vulnerable to the severe impacts of COVID-19.
• Sports fans desperately want to return to stadiums, but these spaces need employees physically present to make that happen.
• Grocery store workers have never been able to go remote, and have suffered outbreaks as a consequence.

The focus on remote work as the future of work is often rooted in false assumptions about how the workforce realistically functions in the here and now; during this pandemic, only some can work from home while the workers who make that change possible (store employees, manufacturers, medical researchers, etc) must still come to a specific physical space.

HR leaders are stuck between theoretical conversations about work from home changes and the need to make safe return to work decisions as soon as possible.

According to a study by USC, the U.S. GDP impact of COVID-19 could be as high as $3-$4 trillion over the next two years due to factors including mandatory closures, gradual reopenings, and decreased demand for leisure activities.

To stem this tide, America must get back to physical workspaces beyond essential businesses. We need to change our conversations about the future of work: it won’t just become permanently remote, it needs to become safe for in-person employees now.

To reopen our economy and plan against future outbreaks, we need a new approach to managing the health of every worker – not just those lucky enough to remain remote. Businesses are being forced to choose between risking their workers’ health or shutting down. HR leaders urgently need solutions to this dilemma.

The good news is that reopening your business, no matter which type, is possible right now, even without widespread vaccinations. It requires a data-driven, holistic approach, but with the right infrastructure in place, it’s possible.

Simply requiring vaccinations isn’t a holistic approach

The reality is that vaccines, though immensely important, are not the solution for every employer across the country. Managing who in your organization receives them and increasing that portion is vital, but because most employers won’t be able to mandate it, there will always be a part of your workforce that is not vaccinated.

The current signs point to COVID-19 becoming endemic, with new variants occurring periodically and the chances of this infectious disease being eradicated small. It will likely need to be treated like a very contagious and virulent flu – with annual vaccinations. Mixed immunity will be something we live with now and forever, so you’ll need to know who these workers are and employ a different protocol for them. Planning for this reality now will result in less stress later on when the world is reopened without every American vaccinated.

How to manage hybrid populations

A holistic, end-to-end infectious disease management (IDM) platform is necessary to manage these mixed immunity groups. This means daily health screenings, testing data management, exposure notification and contact tracing solutions, and vaccine tracking and case management for COVID-19 outbreaks if they do occur.

This means data collecting and storing data – lots and lots of employee health data – likely more than your organization will be able to securely manage on its own. This pressure falls on the shoulders of HR managers, but there are third-party organizations ready to work with you to coordinate this lift.

Accepting this complicated situation allows employers to establish an infectious disease management program as part of every-day operations and work within its restraints, utilizing science-driven data to make safe decisions 100% of the time.

HR managers are facing a safety dilemma, and we need to ensure that they have the resources they need to protect their employees and organizations. Instead of focusing on lofty concepts about the future of work, we must ensure that physical workplaces are safe, first and foremost.

Optimistically looking forward to the future and all of its positive changes without a solid infectious disease management plan and the tools to make it happen does not account for the realities facing an array of organizations now. Creating lasting employee and consumer confidence in returning to physical spaces is possible.  Leaders just need our help, and they need it now.

Tarun Nimmagadda is the CEO of ReturnSafe, which has empowered NBA teams, television studios, health care organizations, universities, and a wide range of businesses with solutions for a COVID-free workplace.