With the rise of COVID-19, many industries have been closed down, and other businesses have employees working from home. Due to loss in productivity and the economy, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed guidance and some general rules everyone needs to follow in offices.

Employers reopening businesses should keep their health and their employees’ safety in mind. These guidelines are essential to consider when developing new policies and procedures in their workplace.

OSHA Guidelines to Follow During Reopening Procedures

Reopening offices and industries is a lot more complex than we think in the wake of the pandemic. All workplaces and industries must ensure their employees return to a safe and healthy environment. Sanitization, cleanliness, and even non-COVID-related safety guidelines should be followed and are still equally important. If your industry is in Bakersfield, 911 Restoration is offering Sanitization services! Call them now at (661) 220-7584 if you want to disinfect your office place and make it a safe environment for your employees. Here are a few safety guidelines that employers can make sure of in their businesses.

Health Monitoring

The pandemic has undoubtedly made everyone more aware of their health. It is necessary to be concerned about both employees’ and employers’ health, but this is something people should have always been concerned about in a workplace. Office workers who feel sick or show signs of COVID-19, such as cough or sneezing should stay home.

This precaution is not just to prevent the spread of infection but also to take care of their bodies and rest until they come back to work. No matter what, no employer should force their employees to work if their health is declining.

There should be policies regarding this that ensure their good treatment. Employees should be allowed to seek health consultation, and appropriate health insurance for them should be available. Create a system that ensures each employee can talk about their health concerns, and an employer should take action promptly too.

This prompt action would help stop the illness to further spread to other employees. To keep everyone safe at the office, the management could hire personnel to check vaccinations and symptoms daily. Every workplace should have regular sanitation, mask requirements, etc.

Safety Courses

One of the steps OSHA recommends employers take is to start an introduction course explaining the office’s standard operating procedures and safety requirements. Many employees might have forgotten basic safety standards due to continuous work from home and lockdowns. Some industries can also include courses about hazard concerns that might arise due to neglect and inactivity of the workplace due to COVID-19. Equipment and machines, for example, maybe prone to malfunctions or failures because it hasn’t been used in a while.

Limiting Capacity

Infection is more likely to spread in crowded places. Employers need to realize not all workplaces can open up simultaneously; this could result in a new wave of the COVID-19 hit. A new wave of COVID would put us all back to where we started and overwhelm the hospital system. That is why, according to OSHA, it is best to open up industries and offices slowly by limiting the capacities of the workforce.

With it, it is also equally important to follow all SOPs and safety measures discussed earlier. Non-essential employees should still work from home to limit the number of people in workplaces. This limitation of people will allow everyone to return safely to work and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Open Communication

Employees are risking their lives coming to work. That is why OSHA gives employees the absolute right to open up about their safety concerns and health conditions without fear of retaliation. All problems should be treated equally, whether they are COVID-19 related or not. Employers should set up a proper system and a health and safety board to maintain an appropriate communication channel. These concerns should be considered important enough to be taken to a higher level and not just forgotten. Making the employees feel heard will not only keep everyone safe but also increase their productivity at work.

Proper Planning

When reopening workplaces in Bakersfield, OSHA urges employers to consider physical illnesses and mental illnesses as a result of the pandemic and ongoing lockdowns. Employees are also stressed, fatigued, depressed, and distracted other than the physical illness. These can potentially cause problems and should be considered when reopening workplaces. Employers should be mindful and empathetic with their employees and keep clear guidelines to help workers through such times.

Make Your Workplace Safe!

Before reopening workplaces, there are a ton of concerns. The first thing is to sanitize the place. If you’re in looking for Sanitization Companies in Bakersfield, 911 Restoration has experienced sanitization specialists available to clean and disinfect your space. Call (661) 220-7584 to speak with the experts about sanitization. Our priority is customer satisfaction, and our services are available 24/7 for your ease.