Let's face it: Reopening the office should not be as outright fearful as what our essential workers have been going through for weeks. Hospitals, emergency personnel, police and fire, pharmacy, grocery and transit workers deserve our appreciation for all they continue to do. They are literally risking their health every day they go to work.
Yet, employees who will soon return to the office, restaurant or retail store also have their own legitimate fears and anxieties. Leaders need to address these concerns if we truly want our employees to feel safe and be as productive as they were before COVID-19 closed the doors.
I've heard it in recent conversations with my own employees and in talking with other executives, managers and staff. I've seen it in body language and eyeballs on Zoom check-in calls. No one has actually said, "I'm afraid to go back to the office" — many are grateful to have a job when friends are either furloughed or have lost their job. But there is an undercurrent of fear and anxiety that should be acknowledged and talked about. This discussion, not just a set of rules and policies, will go a long way to improving the chances of a successful restart.
Leaders are inundated with advice on practical tips on how to safely bring employees back to work — with variances for the office, retail store or public accommodation.
The instructions include how to maintain social distancing in the work environment and a myriad of new rules for employee safety in huddle and conference rooms, break areas, kitchens and bathrooms. We are required to have masks, soap and disinfecting and sanitizing supplies.
These step-by-step measures are the table stakes for reopening. We want employees back to work. In the traditional work environment, this is a top-down set of instructions that comes from HR and other departments on the rules for the office and business establishment.
But in the new normal, just imposing rules from the top won't deal with the concerns and anxieties — and, yes, fears — about leaving the safety of home to return to work. It has to be a top-down and bottom-up approach.
Let's look at the concerns.
Employee questions and fears start with how they will get to work. There are multiple risks in public transportation. How can you know that the person next to you on a bus or subway isn't an asymptomatic carrier? Was the bus or subway cleaned overnight and then throughout the day? As a leader, are you willing to help employees out with subsidies for parking, carpooling or even a stipend for a bicycle purchase?
Once you get to the building, what about the elevator? Is social distancing possible in an elevator? Can you go to the bathroom when more than one person has been in there? What proofs do we want from employees that they are not ill or have been near people who are COVID-positive? What will we do if someone gets sick when they come back to work?
It's one thing to tell the employees all that is being done for their safety. It's another to let them voice their concerns, anxiety and fears. You will probably get very good, collaborative ideas.
I doubt we will be able to fully allay employee fears, but we can tell employees that we understand their concerns and that, collectively, we are responsible for our health and safety. I believe this will work in numerous ways: individuals and teams will be calmer, they will appreciate the concern and they will be more productive.
Recent surveys indicate that employees are trusting of the information coming from their employers, perhaps more than that from political leaders. That trust can be increased when employees have a voice in the decisions that will make them safe and productive in the workplace because the new normal will be a constantly moving target.
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June 04, 2020 at 06:48PM
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Addressing The Office Fear Factor Before We Come Back To Work - Forbes
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