Many employers have begun bringing their staff back to the workplace now lockdown restrictions have eased, and the power of tech has helped in ensuring the safety regulations to do so.
In May, the tech firm ServiceNow released ServiceNow Safe Workplace, a four‑app suite and dashboard designed to help companies manage the essential steps for returning employees to the workplace.
This included Employee Readiness Surveys, Employee Health Screening, Workplace Safety Management and Workplace PPE Inventory Management.
Each app essentially does what its name depicts:
The first helps gauge the staff’s level of preparedness to return to the workplace and the second enables companies to screen employees to ensure compliance with entry requirements such as temperature checks.
The third allows facilities managers to quickly configure clean and hygienic, socially distanced workspaces so that employees can safely return, and the last app helps businesses manage and monitor their PPE inventory needs.
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A Cambridge-based company named ReCoVa-19 has also developed a testing and wellness programme to identify asymptomatic spreaders (those with disease but no symptoms) and pre-symptomatic spreaders (those infected, but yet to show symptoms).
Both are groups that the current routine government testing programmes do not identify, and the firm hopes this will help employers bring staff back to the workplace with confidence.
ReCoVa-19 offers employers options – either a completely proactive solution, testing for Covid-19 infection and immunity, with ongoing onsite monitoring, or to monitor health and provide reactive testing for suspect infections.
The programme offers a daily wellness symptom checker app with a 15 second employee check in. Symptoms are flagged up in the management portal and antigen testing (for active infection) is provided for suspect cases.
This level of testing can continue over time for teams and individuals. The Company also offers antibody tests within MHRA guidelines.
The third level of testing is environmental (looking for the virus on surfaces) to ensure that cleaning practices are completely effective and commensurate with the challenge.
Told to continue working from home, but not everyone has that luxury
The NI Government’s advice is that people should still stay at home to work if possible, but for many industries such as manufacturing, hospitality, construction or working in warehouses, this is not feasible.
Photo by Edward Jenner from Pexels
Although many white-collar jobs may have the benefit of remote working, Belfast-based firms such as PwC and Novosco have brought some employees back on site, following staff feedback that many people would like the option of returning to the office.
However, various reports have contradicting results. For example, according to Lisburn tech firm ActionPoint, 68% of workers across the island of Ireland want to continue working from home.
But in May, a survey of 2,000 UK workers by legal business, DWF revealed that half were then ready to return to work post-lockdown, assuming their employer has the right safety process in place.
79% of respondents also stated they would be comfortable with their employer conducting regular temperature tests, while 78% would be willing to allow their employer to conduct regular Covid-19 antigen tests.
What if an employee does not want to go to work?
The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) provides an impartial and confidential employment relations service to those engaged in industry, commerce, and the public services.
According to the group, employers in Northern Ireland should listen to their staff who may be reluctant to go back to the workplace in fear of catching coronavirus.
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The LRA suggests that the employer should take steps to protect everyone, for example, offering extra car parking where possible so that people can avoid using public transport.
However, on the LRA’s website it states that if an employee still does not want to go in, they may be able to arrange with their employer to take the time off as holiday or unpaid leave, but the employer does not have to agree to this.
If an employee refuses to attend work without a valid reason, it could further result in disciplinary action.
Therefore, safety and compliance measure are of utmost importance for both employers and employees when it comes to returning to the physical workplace.
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Lead scientist behind ReCoVa-19 Dr Tony Cooke commented: “The nation needs everyone to be safely back at work and it is clear to us that diverse industry sectors have different needs, both with respect to the challenges faced in the working environment and the sustainable cost of testing at a level that helps protect staff.
“Concerns over obligations with regard to the health and safety of employees and uncertainty, are also significant barriers to returning to workplaces but with the level of testing and support we can provide that’s no longer necessary.”
ReCoVa-19's Dr Tony Cooke
Contact tracing apps a must?
Although over 300,000 people in NI to date have downloaded the government’s official StopCOVID NI app, individual businesses may create their own versions of contact-tracing apps for their separate workplaces.
This is currently being seen often in the hospitality sector for customers entering bars and restaurants.
The idea behind contact-tracing apps is to record which people you have been in close proximity to throughout the day by using your phone's Bluetooth connection, and then if you get coronavirus those people will be notified.
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However the cost of such app development or technology bespoke to specific companies for employee wellbeing could be quite hard in a time when many organisations are still trying to recover from the negative impacts lockdown has already had, including having to furlough employees or make redundancies.
Only time will tell how long it will take for business to continue as usual for the entire nation, but while many tech firms can continue to comfortably work remotely, the ramifications don’t look good for the likes of city centre newsagents, cafes and delis that rely on office worker footfall.
Have you went back to your workplace post-lockdown? Do you want to remain working from home? Let us know team@syncni.com
