Coronavirus: 5 Essential Questions Employers Should Consider!

While several big companies cancel important events and conferences, like MWC and Facebook’s F8, various others are searching for effective ways of collaboration within their employees to ensure the healthy and productive lifestyle of both employees and the business. 

Over a previous couple of weeks, we have witnessed the coronaviruses spread to over 65 countries. More than 89,000 people are currently affected, more than 3,000 of them are dead, we still have several closed borders, travel bans, and imposed quarantines. It seems that the virus goes beyond the measures of health. 

The economic, social, and financial impact on businesses is valid.

The overall situation may as well serve companies as an awakening call to properly review their policies, procedures, and strategies to ensure the safety and the effectiveness of employees and customers. Taking into account the unprecedented effects of the epidemic, here are 8 portentous questions companies should take into account in order to respond to the virus’s spread in best manners.

1. What are the most effective ways to protect employees from exposure in the workplace? 

As the disease is called, coronavirus causes Covid-19, which largely tends to spread via respiratory droplets from sneezing and coughing. The virus easily transfers via hand contact, but one might also get infected by touching a contaminated object or surface. 

It is highly recommended for employees to:

• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or as well use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. 
• In case of respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath) and/or a temperature above 100.4 F stay home or connect to responsible bodies. Why? Visiting medical centers in case of the identification of the above-mentioned symptoms will help those facilities to operate more effectively and help protect everyone involved from possible COVID-19 and other viruses. 
• Make sure to leave the workplace in case of developing similar symptoms. 
• Make sure to cover the mouth and nose with a tissue or flexed elbow when sneezing or coughing. Also, throw tissues to closed bins right after the use.

It’s also highly recommended to try to avoid handshaking, to minimize the risks of getting infected as discussed above.

Moreover, employers need to provide ready access to washing facilities in the workplace as the washing hands are considered to be one of the most effective defenses to the virus. They also have to make sure to keep the washrooms well stocked with necessary products such as soap and paper towels (ideally.)

It is important to take into consideration to routinely clean the constantly touched surfaces in the office such as workstations, doorknobs, and countertops. If possible, alcohol-based hand sanitizers should also be provided and distributed throughout the workplace.

2. When to exclude workers or visitors from the workspace?

As discussed earlier, in case of infection symptoms, employees should go home not to endanger the health of others.  Sometimes, dedicated staff may insist on staying at the office and not taking sick days. However, given the danger this epidemic presents, managers shouldn’t hesitate to efficiently send home the employees who show symptoms of the virus.

At the same time, visitors or employees are symptomatic for Covid-19 should be separated from the staff and supported with relevant arrangements in order to be able to safely leave the workplace and obtain required medical evaluation on time. 

In case the virus becomes widely spread in the community and the surrounding area, using hand-held scanners companies can check the people entering the office and try to avoid visitors whose temperature is over 100.4 F.

3. What are alternative, less risky ways to maximize the continued work of the employees?

As the effects of the virus quickly spread throughout the globe, more and more companies chose to encourage their employees to work from home. Sony, for example, closed its offices in Paris and Gdynia, London, Poland, on Wednesday. Twitter recently recommended its 5,000 global workforces not to come to the office and continue working from home. Moreover, Google’s headquarters in Dublin as its employees try to avoid spreading the virus and work from home. 

Of course, there are several jobs that require people to be physically present in the workplace. At the same time, various meetings and online jobs can as well be done remotely from another place other than the office.

Promote a remote working system for your employees if possible, and reduce the risks of spreading the virus!

4. How effective is your company’s public health communication with the employees?

In cases of a not well yet well-known virus, like Corona, the panic in the general public, can result in greater tragedies. To maximize effective preparation and safety manners, it is extremely important to properly create relevant communication with your employees. 

It is imperious for companies to make sure to connect to all the workers, inclusive the ones that are not at the worksite about the factual updates on infection symptoms, measures of safety, and control, as well as relevant information on company’s policy regarding remote work, or other specifications. 

The emergency team of the company should be well prepared and ready to take the responsibility of a good design communication with the employees in such cases, while also eliminating the chances of inconsistent policies communicated via other managers or members of the company. 

Obviously, this also requires the organization to properly manage and keep the personal contacting information of its employees, in the first place.

5. How well are your company’s supervisors trained?

In a high-risk health situation like this, companies are responsible for providing their staff with the appropriate training, supervision and updated information (e.g. on companies policies, infection control, etc.) It’s important to properly communicate on who the employees should inform in case of an exposure. 

Diligent planning will not only help to defend your employees but also minimize the harms for your customers and the business. This virus is yet another chance for companies to optimize, test, and battle their plans and executions.