The restrictions applied all over India to fight the coronavirus pandemic will slowly start to decrease, which means the stalled economic activity will start resuming, slowly but surely. And most important of all: safely.
COVID-19 in India
The COVID-19 situation in India is as follows: over 16,000 people in the country have been infected and the death toll is over 500. Some areas, however, are deemed free of the virus, and it’s mostly in these areas that the economy is planned to resume. Still, some precautions will be in place and it’s the employer’s responsibility to follow them to the letter.
The threat of COVID-19 is still not to be taken lightly. For this reason, HR departments and businesses in general have a very important task at hand: making sure their employees enjoy a safe return to work. Those with kids under 5 years old and those aged 65 years old or more will still be working from home, but the rest should find a safe work environment free of the coronavirus threat.
Show Your Employees You Care
If there was ever a time to show your employees you have a deep appreciation for them, this is it. Take this opportunity to show them you care by providing the safest workplace possible. To do this, a few operational rules need to be followed, as provided by the government:
- Employees should keep a distance of at least 6 feet from one another.
- Meetings of 10 people or more won’t take place.
- Lunch breaks must be staggered so big gatherings are avoided.
- Employees will work in shifts, with an hour gap between them.
- No more than 2 or 4 people should use the lift and the use of staircases is encouraged.
- Non-essential visitors are not allowed.
- Vehicles must be arranged for staff that depends on public transportation, which must work with up to 40% passenger capacity, no more.
- Face masks must be provided to all.
- Adequate hand sanitizers must be available.
- Thermal screening is mandatory.
- There must be a list of COVID-19 hospitals nearby at work at all times.
These are the rules that will make it possible for employees to have greater peace of mind and therefore be confident about coming back to work during a pandemic. The way you apply them to your workplace is key!
Provide More Benefits
Aside from making the workplace a safe and clean space, you should provide more benefits to your employees. Healthcare benefits are a must, not just because it will keep employees protected, but also because it will ease their minds. You want employees to feel confident about coming back and healthcare benefits will accomplish that. Employees won’t only feel safe, they’ll be happier and be more productive as a result.
Conclusion
It’s not only about economic activity; a business is nothing without employees willing to work hard for themselves and for the company. They won’t do that if they can’t trust you with their health and security, so now is the best time to show them the true colors of your company culture.
