What the New Normal Means in Your Office Place
If you’ve been working from home over the last year, you may be wondering what work will look like in the future. Whether employees have enjoyed working from home or not, many employers are encouraging their staff to head back to the office. What changes can you expect when heading back to the office during the new normal?
Changes in Sick Leave Policy
If you worked in an office where it was frowned upon to take sick leave due to cold symptoms, expect a change for the better. Workplaces are now required to take cold symptoms seriously. This means a tendency towards expecting you to stay home if you’re sick or experiencing any symptoms of sickness. That’s right- you should no longer be expected to get your coworkers sick so that you can keep up with work.
In addition, many companies are being more generous with sick time given. Especially when it comes to Covid-19, many offices have special leave policies. There are federal laws that make it so certain types of workplaces give leave if you’re diagnosed with the disease as well. This also means the flexibility of working from home if you’re under the weather, so be on the lookout for more hybrid meetings if a colleague is working from home.
A Focus on Health
In addition to expanded leave, many employers have taken the position of focusing on health in the workplace. This makes sense, since many employees focused on health during the pandemic. This means everything to employers offering more wellness incentives, like access to probiotics for adults, or free therapy sessions.
There will be many deterrents to spreading Covid-19 and other germs in the office as well. You’ll see more hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes around. Cleaning protocols will be enhanced as well, and many companies have updated air filtration systems in order to keep people safe during this time.
New Safety Guidelines
In addition to more hand sanitizer and improved cleaning protocols, you’ll also see improved safety guidelines that are set in place in order to help slow the spread of Covid-19. These will include encouragement to social distance and the wearing of masks in the office. They may also include limits on the number of people who can use a meeting space or kitchen at the same time.
Since social distancing is important to stop the spread of Covid-19, your office place may have found ways to improve social distancing. There include the use of plastic shields and barriers. You may also see rules set in place that encourage people to spread out. Cubicles may have been moved apart or only half the staff may come in on certain days of the week.
New Signage
In addition to actual barriers and rules around social distance, don’t be surprised if you see a lot of new signs that encourage everything from social distance to proper handwashing technique. Offices have worked hard to come up with rules and regulations designed so that people can work together in one space in this new environment the world is existing in. For you, this means the opportunity to read them at every turn.
Guidelines for Public-Facing Offices
If you work in an office building that’s open to the public, look for the guidelines above as well as a few more to try and keep the public safe. There may be rules on how many people can enter at once. In addition, you may see decals on the floor to encourage people to stand in a socially distanced line or furniture spread apart so that people are encouraged to sit at a distance from each other.
Office spaces should be working to keep the public and you apart too. There will be barriers put in place between you and those using whatever services you provide. These will include barriers that keep people from getting too physically close, as well as plexiglass shields.
There’s no doubt that how the world works will continue to change as the pandemic progresses and changes. From social distancing guidelines to more work time flexibility, the office will never be quite the same.
