Managing a safe return to office life

As UK organisations brace themselves for a return to office life, it’s in the interests of HR professionals to ensure that the physical return of people is safely and thoughtfully managed. But what needs to be considered? Here, John Nicklin, Managing Director of Juggl Desks, a desk management solution to support a safe return to the office, gives his insights.

What does Freedom Day mean for HR?

19 July 2021 has been coined ‘Freedom Day’, but employees are hardly throwing off their masks and rushing back into the office. The past 16 months has impacted everyone in different ways and with COVID cases on the increase, many employees are understandably cautious of a return to the office with some being particularly fearful of mixing with colleagues once again. This has a big impact on HR professionals who have to carefully navigate a path between Government guidelines and the health and wellbeing of their people.

First and foremost, HR needs to understand employees’ expectations and needs regarding a return to the workplace. It’s important for HR and line managers to speak to staff on a one-to-one basis and gauge how they feel about heading back into the office, what would make them feel safe and any reservations they might have about returning. Vulnerable employees and those with extra needs require special attention and consideration so they are confident that their wellbeing is being prioritised.

Flexibility is key

A move towards a permanent hybrid/flexible model of working must be carefully considered in support of staff health and wellbeing. With many employees having worked at home and/or flexibly for over a year, they won’t be understanding if employers resort back to a strict 9-5 office-based model, and it’s likely people will simply leave. Hybrid and flexible working is now becoming expected, far beyond a ‘perk’ of the job and employers must respond to this. With almost half (46 per-cent) of employees saying they don’t have flexible working arrangements in their current role (CIPD research), it appears that many employers are still playing ‘catch-up’.

Be office ready

It’s all too easy to overlook the practicalities of creating a COVID-safe workplace. You’ll likely find that employees will expect there to be social distancing measures on their return as well as hand sanitiser stations and masks when moving around the office, and you’ll need to work with the facilities/operations manager to reconfigure the desks and meeting rooms to allow for social distancing (with fewer desks likely). But how will fewer desks work if you have the same number of employees, and how will you ensure there aren’t too many people in the office at any one time? It’s important to carefully consider and coordinate the movement of people in and out of the office so people feel safe and once in the office, have somewhere to sit with the right facilities to hand.

Desk booking technology 

There’s never been a better time to start using desk management software. Once a ‘nice to have’ to help with the booking of desks and meeting rooms, it’s now key for managing office occupancy, ensuring everyone attending the office has a safe place to sit, and for reducing employee anxiety. After all, if anxious employees turn-up to the office on their first day back and the office is overcrowded with nowhere for them to sit, how likely is it that they will return? HR will then have to manage the inevitable fallout.

It’s not necessary to pay a fortune for an over-complicated desk management solution with all the ‘bells and whistles’, it just needs to be simple to administer and easy for employees to book desks, car parking spaces (if required) and the necessary facilities. Some solutions are even free right now and are very quick and simple to set-up.

By ensuring employees can easily book desks in advance of them attending the office, employee health and wellbeing is supported. From the employer’s point of view, they have an overview of exactly who is in each office at any one time, ensuring overcrowding doesn’t take place while supporting track and trace. Such insights also allow the employer to understand whether the office is configured correctly for the number of people in the office, informing future workplace layouts and ways of working.

A final word

As employees trickle back into the office, it’s vital that HR facilitates a safe and stress-free return. Considering employees’ concerns and anxieties combined with the practicalities of a physical return, will help to ensure a smooth transition and ensure staff feel cared for and considered at every stage.

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