5 tips for promoting a healthy workplace post quarantine

Image by René Vlak from Pixabay

By Henry Brown

A happy and healthy workplace is the ideal environment for high levels of productivity. Promoting health at work is not only beneficial for the employees, but it should also have a positive impact on your organization.

As many workers ready themselves to return to the workplace after months of quarantine, it’s crucial that employers do everything in their power to create a safe and healthy environment.

While you can’t control how people feel, nor should you try to, you can enable them to be happy by creating a healthy environment to work in. By prioritizing your employees’ health, you are demonstrating how much you value them. Valued, happy, and healthy employees have the energy and cognitive function to excel in their jobs. Happy employees are reported to be 12% more productive than unhappy employees.

In the COVID era, it’s vital to put plans in motion to create a healthy environment. To help you create such plans, here are five great tips for promoting a healthy workplace post quarantine.

 Provide flexibility to workers

The pandemic has seen millions of people operate from remote home offices. Employees are now facing responsibilities and living situations like never before. Some workers are under tremendous pressure to cater to children and vulnerable relatives. With this in mind, it’s important to offer employees some flexibility when they are returning to the workplace.

A good approach to this scenario is to discuss individual circumstances with each employee. Arrange a schedule that allows staff to manage personal responsibilities while performing their job optimally. Consider offering flexible hours and deadlines.

Offer healthcare incentives

Research the possibility of receiving rebates if you offer healthcare benefits to workers. Alternatively, you could consider the possibility of offering healthcare incentives, covered by the business. Although this may be costly, it could be a positive move for your organization.

Many workers are not only worried about contracting the virus in the workplace, but they are also concerned about financial or job implications.

Provide free healthy food, drinks, and snacks

Make health convenient for your employees by providing free fruit, beverages, and healthy snacks. Install commercial espresso machines to give your staff the chance to make freshly brewed coffee every day.

Having a strong and healthy immune system is essential for fighting off illness, so enabling your staff to maintain healthy eating habits at work is highly beneficial.

Create good sanitation habits

Take extra care in your cleaning and sanitation efforts around the office. Ensure that all surfaces, equipment, and other items that people come in contact with are sanitized and disinfected regularly.

Place ample handwashing stations at convenient locations for employees. Make sure to have enough soap, water, and sanitizer at all times.

Display signage to promote high sanitation standards and have a suitable amount of masks, tissues, and trash cans available for safe use and disposal.

Prioritize mental health

The workplace can be a stressful place. You must prioritize your employees’ mental health now, more than ever. Offer professional support, wellness plans, and arrange virtual meditation or mindfulness seminars for your workers.

In such unprecedented circumstances, it’s crucial that the workplace is somewhere that people feel happy and supported

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.

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