By Oliver Morrison, CEO, Filter Digital
Now more than ever, employers are having to reassess their health and safety guidance for staff to ensure a safe and secure workplace for their employees. But how do you check your employees are well and reporting no symptoms of infectious diseases before they arrive for work?
Employers have a responsibility to keep their employees safe whilst at work. Many of us are used to conforming to company policy on wearing appropriate uniform and footwear, keeping walkways and access routes clear and following health and safety guidance whilst working on-site.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, it is now more than ever that employers are having to reassess their health and safety guidance for staff to ensure a safe and secure workplace for their employees.
Employers across all sectors and industries are introducing several new measures to protect their staff and to minimise risk. New office layouts, protective screens, floor graphics, one-way walkways, hand sanitising and the introduction of new Personal Protective Equipment have become commonplace.
Whilst employers can control, to an extent, what safety measures they introduce and how they implement them, empowering employees to follow them correctly and safely is paramount. Clear communication across a business is crucial to ensure everyone on-site is following the health and safety guidelines and rules.
With the spread of infectious diseases at the forefront of the implementation of enhanced measures within the workplace, there is a real need to ensure that employees are symptom-free before they enter a place of work. Whilst employers are doing all they can to ensure staff are safe at work, until now, there has been no mechanism to check staff are safe to come into work.
Safety at the workplace is paramount, and simple additional measures before reaching the workplace, such as regular communication, wellness checks, symptom reporting, records of travel or of interaction with people that have contracted COVID-19, are integral to overall safeguarding.
We’ve also collated some simple questions that can be used to regularly to check-in on employee wellbeing, to support effective and safe working.
Workspace
- Are you comfortable in your physical workplace?
- Do you have all of the equipment/supplies that you need to complete your work?
- Is your working environment causing you any stress?
- Is working from home negatively affecting your productivity?
Satisfaction
- Are you receiving the right amount of communication?
- Are you happy with the amount of recognition you receive for your work?
- Do you feel recognition is meaningful when you receive it?
- Are you feeling useful at work?
- Do you ever feel anxious at work?
Team
- Do you feel you can share your thoughts with your manager?
- Do you feel you are positively encouraged to give your opinion?
- Can you count on your colleagues when you need help?
- Do you feel your colleagues collaborate well?
Health
- Are you satisfied with your physical health?
- Are you following a regular exercise or training regime?
- Do you try to eat a healthy diet?
- Do you feel healthy?
- Would you be interested in having access to mental health resources at work? (such as meditation sessions, mindfulness classes etc.)
About The Author
Oliver Morrison is CEO at Filter Digital, developer of the The Safe For Work app, which provides a quick and easy way to check employees are well and reporting no symptoms of infectious diseases.
