What Leaders Should Be Thinking About Returning to the Workplace

It’s almost impossible to believe we’re slowly but surely inching towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. I think I speak for most people when I say the last year and a half of being stuck at home has felt like a century, and it’s honestly a little strange that things are starting to get better as a lot of us have just started adjusting to the new norm. 

This can be especially frustrating if, like many companies, you’ve done your best to adapt by making all the necessary adjustments to facilitate an online workplace. But with the increased rollout of vaccines, we need to start preparing to return to the workplace once again.

As a leader in my own companies as well, it’s something I constantly worry about and dread. Thinking constantly about it, I realised it’s a process that doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, it can be really simple, as long as we stick to the fundamentals and prioritise the right things. Read on and find out the three things I believe leaders should consider as they prepare to reopen the offices. 

Safety 

Well, this is obvious. But hey, sometimes the obvious answers are the right answers! Let’s be real, the transition back to the workplace wouldn’t – and shouldn’t – be an immediate one. It has to be done in increments, slowly acclimatising everybody back into the workplace. So as a business leader, you need to make sure that the transition goes without any unwanted health risks or accidents, while prioritising safety. 

So how exactly can a business prioritise safety? Well, it starts with new sanitation measures. Be honest with yourself, we have all probably become complacent after such a long period of getting used to the pandemic. More thorough sanitation measures must be done to ensure that everyone has a safe and clean working environment. 

Aside from that, companies should adhere to the recommended social distance and ventilation – natural, structural ways to curb any disease transmissions. Imposing mask guidelines, as well as contract tracing, can also be very useful in the office premises. As an employer, you can do your part to make sure that your employees are taking the vaccines.

At the end of the day, safety isn’t just a legal responsibility, but a moral one. It’s not just what will help your employees transition back into the fold, it’s what you, as a company, can do for them.

Who Should Return First?

Like I mentioned previously, acclimatising back into the workplace isn’t a one-time big-time thing. It needs to be a slow and steady transition done in segments, and this decision to return back to the workplace necessitates figuring out who should be reintegrated first. 

Part of your function as a leader is figuring out which employees are absolutely indispensable when it comes to on-site groundwork. Clerks and salespeople are examples of roles that typically need to be physically present to complete their job requirements. There are other roles, however, like designers, that can be done remotely and don’t need to be in the middle of all the action. 

Once you have figured out which roles are essential to the workplace, it will be easier to communicate with your employees and set their expectations on how the changes will be made. Which brings me to my final point…

Empathy for Employees 

Naturally, employees are the pillars to your business, so whenever you present these plans to them, they need to be on the same page with you. However, with everyone getting used to the new norm of working remotely, you might be met with a bit more resistance. 

Maybe, there are some employees that are more at-risk for COVID-19 because of comorbidities, or maybe some employees just prefer the personal space and work-life balance that working remotely offers. As a leader, it’s important to take all of these things into account.

The simplest way to curb this is to make sure you have a good human resources setup. Find out what your employees’ needs really are, and figure out how to make the transition inclusive to everybody’s needs. Once you have this down, ensure that you communicate with all your employees on a personal level, so that everybody can be on the same page about what kind of changes will be happening, and the mindset needed for these changes to happen. 

This pandemic hasn’t been easy for anyone, and that includes the part where we have to constantly adapt and learn. But if you, the leader, can help your team to get through it, there’s no doubt your business will succeed, no matter what difficulties you will face along the way, because you will have a resilient team behind you. 

To your success,

Mario

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