3 Steps Businesses Will Need to Take to Protect Employees from Communicable Diseases
Communicable Diseases? While the COVID-19 disaster may seem to have caught the world by surprise, it simply exposed vulnerabilities many public health experts were well aware of.
However, these vulnerabilities can no longer be ignored.
Everybody now has a role in curbing this and future epidemics, and that means either readdressing or establishing new protocols altogether.
Employers will play a central part in this, and having a lax strategy will not only increase the risks of a sparking a second wave but also affect their business from a productivity standpoint.
Let’s take a look at the steps businesses will need to take to protect their workplace from communicable diseases.
It All Starts With Education
Common knowledge isn’t as common as many might think, and the fact that the American people had to be warned against ingesting disinfectants or reminded of basic hygiene rules is a testament to that.
An educated workforce will not only understand policies better but will be more willing to follow them.
Not only that, but they’ll also be able to take the initiative, notice dangerous behaviors in themselves and others, and be able to come with suggestions to reduce risks.
You should also make sure that your management team is on board and well educated as well.
They will be your first line of defense if anything happens on the floor. You have to establish protocols to allow them to assess risks and report them when needed.
Invest in Sanitation
The next step will be to put more emphasis on proper sanitation. Remember, this is an investment in your employees.
However, it’s also important that you take your time to vet cleaning services and understand the methods they use.
When picking COVID-19 cleaning services, your best bet is to go with a medical-grade service. You don’t want to take their word for it either.
Ask if they can provide references from healthcare facilities they’ve worked with.
Also, try to work with companies that have been in the pathogen prevention business, and not your run of the mill cleaning company who suddenly became decontamination experts.
Communicable Diseases: Encourage Employees to Stay Home
The first thing you should do is see what functions in your enterprise can be performed remotely.
Also, consider using agile project management tools if you haven’t already.
These allow workers to easily access tasks at hand through the cloud.
They allow both employees and supervisors to see work in progress, and add new tasks without having to micromanage.
Another thing you’ll have to do is revise your sick leave policies.
If they were prohibitive before, you’d have to make sure that you relax them, and also make sure that they’re in alignment with public health guidelines.
These are only some of the procedures you’ll have if you don’t only want to avoid COVID-19 infection, but any infections in the future.
It allows you to maintain a healthy workforce, and show that you actually care about their health and welfare.
