Easing Back into the Workplace
Nationwide, vaccines are getting into arms and restrictions are being lifted, but with the ever-present threat of yet another surge in Covid cases looming, people facing the prospect of returning to the workplace are feeling anxious and trepidation. Are you one of them?
What can employers, managers and team leaders do to provide small reassurances that calm fears as they welcome their teams back to the workplace?
Extending remote work protocols, and goodwill, by letting teams ease back into a reconfigured office setting will make everyone more comfortable. You might decide to take a staggered approach to ease anxiety:
- Bring back one department at a time over a multi-week period
- Implement a hybrid schedule – three days remote vs. two days in-office
- Slowly scale up additional days in the office
- Stagger work times to facilitate distancing
Rearrange and refresh work environments to comply with social distancing norms. Employ wayfinding signage and techniques to guide people throughout public spaces. Reassure employees with refreshed policies around workplace sanitization and personal hygiene expectations. Lighten the mood by making branded soaps, paper towels, tissues, face masks, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizers available around the office.
We all have questions and expect answers. Keep the line of communication open through email, town halls, online forums, small group gatherings. Be patient. Gift your team with new gear—branded water bottles, insulated coffee tumblers, mousepads, pens, pads, portfolios, ear buds and more, will be appreciated as you acknowledge their return to the workplace.
Let’s be safe and productive together!
Ready to create a strategy for wayfinding, reconfigured workspace environments or branded promotional items? Contact us @ info@brprinters.com or call your Account Executive.