Getting employees back to the office safely: So far, a patchwork quilt
Bringing employees back to physical workspaces during a pandemic is uncharted territory, but employers have already learned a few things.
In the early days of the pandemic, employees were encouraged to work from home. While millions couldn’t—health care providers, first responders, factory and warehouse workers, retail and restaurant workers, and providers of services such as gardening, construction, and hair styling, to name a few—millions of office workers could. Now that more people have been vaccinated and children are heading back to school, the challenge for employers is how to bring employees back to physical workplaces safely.
For some employers, COVID-19 has permanently altered their expectations about where their employees will work. Some have told all but a few employees they can work fully remote forever. Examples are Novartis, Slack and Twitter. Others plan a hybrid approach where employees will work part of the week at home and part in physical spaces. These include Ford, Google and Nationwide. While it’s unclear now how many employers will ask employees to return to physical workplaces full time when the time is right, there will be many.
Related: The hybrid workforce is coming: Here’s what you need to know
At the Health Transformation Alliance (HTA), a cooperative of the nation’s largest employers working together to provide better health outcomes for their employees, we’re helping companies develop plans for safely and effectively transitioning employees back to physical workplaces. All workplaces are different, with varied needs and requirements. The reality is no one plan will be right for all employers. And while there are no proven best practices yet—bringing employees back to physical workspaces during a pandemic is uncharted territory—here’s what we’ve learned.
Education and vaccine access
The best way to protect employees returning to physical workplaces would be to require that everyone is vaccinated. However, out of respect for employees’ individual rights, few employers plan to require that employees get vaccinated. Still, many are encouraging employees to get vaccinated with support from CDC programs. Some are implementing education programs to combat vaccine hesitancy; some are offering information about where employees can get access to vaccines in their communities; and some are offering vaccines at their worksites to make it as convenient as possible.
The need for education extends to basic COVID protocols as well. This includes mask wearing and social distancing inside and, of course, hand washing.
Some employees might resist. They should be reminded that their safety and health is paramount. That’s behind any action an employer might request as they return to physical workspaces.
Testing
In a recent poll of scientists, nearly 90% think COVID will become endemic and need to be managed similarly to seasonal flu. Employers with comprehensive return-to-work strategies understand that testing is a critical part of reopening offices and is here to stay for quite a while.
For example, for employees who decline vaccines, employers may well mandate testing as employees prepare to enter a physical building. At the very least, weekly and perhaps even daily as rapid COVID tests become more available. This is a practice that some colleges and universities around the country have been implementing for some months as a prerequisite for students returning to campuses for one simple reason: it works.
Technology
Technology cross-cuts all return-to-work initiatives. For example, if an employer decides to mandate testing for employees who choose not to be vaccinated, they need a way of verifying who has been vaccinated and who has not. Platforms for vaccine verification are being developed and may well become part of employers’ reopening initiatives. Knowing who has been vaccinated and who has not is also helpful in developing plans for limiting the capacity of workplaces and implementing social distancing.
In addition, there is technology such as that developed by Rise Buildings that enables companies to monitor employees’ movements inside a building. The goal is to ensure compliance with social distancing and other COVID-related health protocols. Employees can also use the technology determine if a work area is safe.
Of course, any technology used to monitor, track, or otherwise verify employee behavior must be used only with the permission of each employee.
A more comprehensive solution that also benefits employees is being implemented by the HTA with Truepill, a digital health platform providing employees access to COVID testing, clinical care, and medication delivery, either from home or their place of work.
Being safe isn’t enough
Employers implementing return-to-workplace safely plans must keep something else top of mind: it is not enough to make employees safe; employees must believe they are safe if they are to be comfortable returning to physical workplaces. Anxiety about COVID based on personal experiences or fears employees have been living with for more than a year cannot be underestimated. Employers will need to be sensitive to this and provide information, guidance, and counseling to assure and reassure that returning to physical spaces is safe.
Employers have a major role to play in reinvigorating the economy. But, we have never had a more complex scenario in getting employees back to work on premises. Each company needs to create its strategy and solution and over time, we will learn what is effective and what is not.
In the meantime, return-to-workplace safely initiatives are a new American patchwork quilt.
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