The new workplace norm

There has been a lot of coverage and speculation around returning to the office or place of work. Making these spaces COVID safe is a priority for employers – but for me, the Number One priority has to be making your workforce FEEL safe. There are high levels of anxiety around the return to work, just getting out the house, in the car or onto public transport can be scary at the moment, entering a building, opening doors, sharing workspace (and air space) is a new experience for some who are taking tentative steps for the first time in over 100 days.

For employers to follow the government guidelines is not enough – sharing this information and the steps that have been taken and EXPLAINING to staff what this means and how risks have been addressed is vitally important to staff well-being mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Communications, transparency and regular exchanges need to be the norm to ensure that staff continue feeling safe and knowing their employers are taking their health and well-being seriously.

On the other side of the coin, wherever possible we are all being encouraged to work from home and the whole business world has been turned on its head – how many of you out there were previously told by your employer that it wasn’t possible for you to be able to do your role from home? Guess what – in many cases its be proved that not only can you work from your home, but you can be productive, arrange meetings, do online and digital training and learning, and be pro-active in making business contacts on social media with LinkedIn being our new Best Friend!

Working in the digital training world, my work is very much home-based and I am so lucky to be able to work with industry experts to share knowledge and training with the construction industry using digital technology. What the last few months have done is power-charged the move to online working, with digital learning and technologies taking the lead and all of us having the opportunity to be part of this new emerging way of working.

My new mantra is ‘Stay Safe, Stay Sane and Stay Sanitised!’

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