- Many employers are developing return-to-office plans for employees who have been working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Enhanced safety protocols, ranging from physical barriers and signage to air filtration, will help contain the spread of the virus.
- Screening protocols can help identify sick employees and keep them quarantined from the rest of the office.
- Employees who are concerned about risk should reach out to their employers with any queries about safety measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of employees to adapt to working from home.
Now that vaccination efforts have started to curb case numbers, many offices are set to open their doors again.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last month a tentative date of May 3 for some 80,000 workers to return to their offices.
Meanwhile, large companies such as JPMorgan and Amazon have said they plan to shift remote employees back into the workplace.
But in a society that’s become used to working from home along with mask wearing and physical distancing in public, there’s some apprehension about the prospect of returning to busy, enclosed office spaces for 8 hours a day.
A recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 49 percent of adults were nervous about returning to in-person interactions at work as well as outside the office.
While returning to the office might represent a return to “normal,” workplace spaces in a post-pandemic world will be significantly different from before.
Source: healthline