WORK DURING THE COVID 19 OUTBREAK. ARE ORGANISATIONS PREPARED?
The government of Zimbabwe announced an indefinite extension of the COVID 19 lock-down in line with WHO regulations in a bid to curb the COVID 19 pandemic. A number of industries were given the green light to operate although under strict regulations such as regular employee screening, strict social distancing rules and the provision of protective equipment (sanitizers and masks. The lock-down has become a very necessary tool for controlling the spread of the disease across the world but it has seriously disrupted businesses. With some organisations now authorized to operate, it has become important for them to understand the implications of recalling employees to work. Human resources profesionals, Safety and Health professionals need to come up with organisation specific measures to guarantee employee health and ensure the employees are as productive as they should be. So what should be done to make sure organisations are prepared and can help in the fight against the pandemic?
Whilst international, regional and local organisations have come up with various measures to adjust to the current operating environment, it is recommendable that organisations create company specific measures other than copy paste solutions which may not suit their operations. Of course other measures are generic and should be adopted at all cost. The following are some of the measures that organisations can adopt.
- Promotion of regular and thorough hand washing
According to the World Health Organisation, one sure way of curbing the spread of COVID 19 is through the promotion of regular and thorough hand washing by employees, contractors and anyone visiting a company’s premises. They state that organisations should
(i) Put sanitizing hand rub dispensers in prominent places around the workplace and make sure these dispensers are regularly refilled
(ii) Display posters promoting hand-washing in prominent places again, in order to create awareness on the importance of hand washing
(iii) Providing access to areas where employees and contractors can wash their hands.
The argument for regular and thorough hand washing is that it kills the virus and reduces the risk of contamination and spread of the pandemic.
2. Reduction of meetings and events
According to the World Health Organisation organizers of meetings and events within organisations should think about the potential risks of COVID 19. There is need for management to consider the replacement of face to face meetings with teleconferencing and other online approaches. ZOOM, SKYPE and Microsoft teams are platforms that can be used to support online meetings depending on the number of individuals involved. However were the meetings have to go on organisations should ensure that fewer people attend and social distancing rules are enforced with the individuals involved provided with the necessary protective equipment such as face-masks and hand sanitizers.
3. Provision of transport
Even though the government is providing transport in the form of Buses and commuter omnibuses under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO), the buses may not be enough to ferry employees across the country to their different workplaces. Employers are not restricted from providing transport for their employees. This helps ease the current transport crisis as well as reduce the risk of transmission of the diseases, by limiting employee interaction with the general public.
4. Employee Awareness and training
It is in the best interest of organisations to create awareness among employees on the COVID 19 pandemic and its effects. The best way to fight the diseases at the workplace is to make sure employees are educated enough and have sufficient information surrounding the pandemic. This can be done through on-line education and putting banners and posters across all areas employees frequent within company premises, these areas include ablution areas, canteens, and offices. Creation of awareness also includes training of employees that deal directly with members of the public and even with other employees in their line of work and examples of such employees include security guards, salespeople, canteen chefs and bus drivers. Organisations should ensure that these employees are trained on how to safely interact with people.
5. Working from Home
In Zimbabwe not many organisations had embraced teleworking prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Now with the interaction restrictions and the need to limit employee movement, teleworking should be strongly considered. Of course many employees had already started working from home however organisations should come up with policies to govern working from home for now and beyond the COVID 19 Pandemic. A coherent working from home policy should address issues of performance measurement, performance management, working times, safeguarding of company information and the provision of tools of trade.
6. Provision of Protective equipment.
Organisations should ensure employees are provided with hand sanitizers or soap and recommended face masks . The organisations should go a step further and educate the employees on the proper use of the equipment and their importance in protecting them against COVID 19. Some organisations seem to have given employees a once off consignment just to comply with legal requirements, this is not right. The protective equipment should be given regularly taking note of the rate of depletion.
7. COVID 19 Response plans and Response Teams
It is important for organisations to understand that COVID 19 cases can be detected at the workplace, as such the organisations should have a response plan of how to handle suspected and actual cases at the workplace. This plan should be well documented and communicated to all employees and in order for it to be enforced they should be a response team. The team should comprise of individuals selected from all departments across the organisation and should also have members of worker leadership. The response team would be responsible for implementation of the response plan and assisting other employees on all issues pertaining to the pandemic. According to the World Health Organisation an effective response plan should among others include the following
(i) Identification of a room (isolation room) where someone who is feeling unwell or has symptoms can be safely isolated
(ii) Instructions on what to do if a staff member, contractor or service provider tests positive for COVID 19
(iii) How an isolated person can be transferred from the isolation room to a recommended health facility?
(iv) How the information of an actual or suspected case would be communicated with other employees and responsible authorities?
8. Screening of Employees
Organisations should ensure that there is regular screening of employees and contractors at organisations’ points of entry. The screening process can be done by security personnel at the gate or by any other assigned individuals. Currently in Zimbabwe organisations are procuring infrared thermometers and using them to screen employees for fever symptoms shown by an above normal temperature. Fever is one of the symptoms of COVID 19 and an individual with high fever may then be recommended for COVID 19 testing. Research has concluded that infrared thermometers can only be effective if used with other measures such as proper use of face masks and sanitizers.
9. Regular fumigation of hotpots at the workplace
There is need for fumigation of areas that are frequented by employees with disinfectants regularly, these areas include toilets, canteens and buses. The fumigation will help kill the virus and reduce the risk of contamination and transmission. Other areas that may need fumigation or wiping are surfaces and objects that employees use as they do their work and get to their workstations, these include tables, desks, telephones and keyboards, staircases and elevators.
10. De-congestion of Workstations
In some organisations employees work in pool offices and these are often crowded, however with the outbreak of COVID 19 these workstations need to be de-congested and ensure proper social distancing is observed. This is meant to reduce the spread of the disease from one employee to another. In a bid to de-congest the workplace organisations can rotate employees coming to work, such that a few employees are in an offices at a time.
Whilst business has to continue for organisations, there is need to ensure the above measures and some other are put in place to safeguard the health of employees. It is also important for organisations to understand that employees make a difference in fighting the COVID 19 pandemic not only at the workplace but in their communities as well.
