For nearly a year, businesses have been navigating the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, striving to remain open while ensuring the safety of their employees and customers. Micro Center, a computer store chain with an outlet in Colorado, exemplifies this commitment to safety.
“We offer them gloves, face masks, we sanitize their hands when they come in,” said Skip Dwyer, Micro Center District Manager. From the onset of the pandemic, the store prioritized the well-being of its workers.
“I think there was a fear factor, and we offered leave of absence to all of our employees that had a concern for their safety,” Dwyer explained, adding that the situation has been a learning experience. “Every day we figure out something that we can do a little bit better,” he said.
Similarly, the engineering firm Campos EPC implemented a series of changes to their workspaces at the outset of the pandemic. “Thermal scanners, rearranging our offices, rearranging our work schedules to minimize the number of people in the office at any given time,” said Mike Venturini, Campos EPC Principal. These measures were taken with the help of a consultant, which employees appreciated.
“I think it gave them a little peace of mind,” Venturini shared. “I think that all helped.”
Companies that rely on physical workspaces have had to reimagine their offices in ways they never envisioned entering 2020. Today there’s more cleaning, more precautions, more efforts to separate employees who do come into work, and their customers.
“That’s probably going to be a trend,” said Dan Meitus, Elevate Real Estate Services CEO. “Offices aren’t going to be as compact and dense as they used to be.”
The risk mitigation efforts in the workplace and attempts to keep the most vulnerable workers at home have been accompanied by new responsibilities for management, such as enforcing mask usage.
“I think it’s really hard for these companies to police people, I think it’s impossible,” said Dr. Dana Lerman, co-founder of The COVID Consultants. Lerman, an infectious disease physician, noted that encouraging basic safety measures may pose the biggest workplace challenge.
“They’re all taking on these roles that they’ve never had to take on before,” she said, cautioning that absolute safety is unattainable. “You will really decrease the risk of transmission in a workplace if you just follow the rules,” Lerman advised.
Dwyer shared one of Micro Center’s protocols: “If there is a positive test from any one of our associates, we immediately shut down the store and call in a company to fog and deep clean the store on the spot,” he said.
Meitus believes some office changes are here to stay. “If you go touchless, where you just walk up to the door, the bathroom door, and it opens for you, or you have the lights that have the sensors that turn on, you’re not going to go back with that technology,” he observed.
As the pandemic continues, businesses are continuously adjusting. “It’s been nine months,” Dwyer reflected. “This is what we do.”
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
