OSHA gives guidelines to the employers to maintain a safe and healthy environment at the workplace during COVID-19. This dangerous disease entered China and affected the whole world with its death seeking impact. Moreover, it has affected America’s daily life and the working life of people severely. Therefore, to reduce the impact on the people and their day to day working the occupational safety and health administration that is OSHA has developed preventive measures. Seeing the severity of COVID-19, it is mandatory for employers to follow safety and health measures even at the workplace.
5 Steps To Maintain A Safe Workplace During COVID-19
- Sanitizing the Workplace and Providing PPE Kit, Face Mask, and Sanitizers to Workers: It is essential to maintain a healthy working environment at the workplace. Due to many people getting affected by the infectious virus many employees fear coming to work. The employer must make sure and provide all safety measures listed under the “work health and safety act”. Furthermore, getting the office cleaned twice by disinfected sprays and encouraging the use of disposable gloves, PPE kit, masks, and sanitizers to each employee is mandatory. Washing the hands after every half an hour is also important by all the employees and workers.
- Talk to the Workers and Employees at Workplace and Ensure Them that They are Safe: It is the duty of the employer to talk to the workers one to one or in a group discussing by maintaining social distancing can be very beneficial. The employer must make the employees aware of the hazardous situation and the ways they can tackle the situation. Training the workers about maintaining good hygiene is one of the important roles of the employer.
- Take Appropriate Measures at Workplace so that a Pandemic Situation Does Not Arise: It becomes the duty of the employer and the workers working in the organization to follow rules set by WHS that is workplace health and safety act. Working in a planned manner by following all the rules and regulations set by the state government is mandatory.
- Work From Home Facility: All those employees who live far from the workplace and have some affected nearby must be permitted to work from home. Moreover, employers must make sure that they are given allowances related to overtime, internet connection, laptop or CP services, and more.
- Maintain Physical Distancing at Workplace is Mandatory to Avoid COVID: A distance of 1.5 meters is more than enough to maintain social distancing at the workplace. Greeting others by shaking hands must be avoided. Visitors to the organizations that are dealers, traders, suppliers, and more must be limited. Conduct meetings via conference calls, video calls, emails, and more. Restrict cash payments to anyone rather than go for cashless payments via online bank transfers, Google pay and phone pay, and more.
The employer can make his\her workplace tension-free and stress-free. Due to this pandemic situation, there is a fear in everyone`s mind of getting infected by Coronavirus. Rather than stressing, safety can be made fun at the workplace and at home too. It is important to stay safe and follow all the rules set by OSHA and the workplace health and safety act at the workplace. Following the safety rules must be a part of our life so that the employees can go fearlessly to work.
