IN COUNTRIES where covid-19 is coming under some degree of control, those who have spent the pandemic working from home are beginning to return to their workplaces. For many, this will come as a relief after months of virtual interaction with colleagues. Others will mourn the return of the commute. Some will feel anxious about the changes ahead.
Of course, first and foremost, workplaces will need to be made safe. So what will that involve? The business of covid-proofing a workplace can seem overwhelming and confusing: there are so many things to consider, from how to organise the working day so that people can socially distance, to improving the ventilation systems in buildings.
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Fortunately, a risk-management system called the Hierarchy of Controls offers a clear and logical way to think about it, whether you labour in an open-plan office or a factory. The lesson is to prioritise the most effective interventions and save weaker ones as fallbacks. As we reveal, the most effective strategies are the ones you can build in and that work automatically, because people, even those with the best intentions, are far from 100 per cent reliable.
We also need to consider our mental health. There is evidence that isolation is remarkably bad for humans, and that social contact has profound benefits. This might suggest we should be in workplaces as much as we can so that we can have more social contact.
鈥淧ost-lockdown anxiety over commuting, socialising and office working is a real problem鈥�
Set against that is some people鈥檚 understandable fear of going back. Post-lockdown anxiety over commuting, socialising and working in enclosed spaces is a real problem, and simply cajoling people into doing this could do more harm than good. Meanwhile, many people have long demanded the right to work more flexibly, and lockdowns have shown how well this can work. It would be a real shame to walk back on these gains 鈥� one of the few good things to have come out of the pandemic.
For all these reasons, the most crucial thing employers and employees can do in the tricky months ahead is communicate openly. We need to find ways forward that everyone can live with.