4 Steps Businesses Can Take to Protect Employees from Coronavirus

[This article was written by Brooke Chaplan.]

Owing the continuing spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, businesses everywhere are looking for ways to keep their employees safe and healthy. While there are no guarantees until a vaccine is developed, there are several basic steps all businesses should be taking to minimize their risks. Here are four steps your business can take to protect its employees from coronavirus.

Make Hand Sanitizer Widely Available

When it comes to stopping disease transmission, few things are as effective as the age-old step of keeping your hands clean. Make sure that your employees have access to plenty of hand sanitizer, as this can prevent them from picking up or spreading coronavirus at work. Disinfecting hand wipes can also be helpful for the same purpose.

Provide Emergency Paid Sick Time

If you want to make sure your employees don’t spread coronavirus at work, it’s essential that they be able to stay home sick without risking financial damage. Extend extra paid sick time to employees who are ill so that they can go through a proper period of self-quarantine. While this may cost you a bit of extra money up front, it will prevent you from losing your entire productive workforce to sickness later on.

Upgrade Your Air Filtration

Another step you can take is to upgrade your air system with medical-grade HEPA filtration to keep contaminants out of your office air. If you want to take this step, you’ll need to find a local AC installation services provider to install your new filters. Keep in mind that having good air filtration in your office can also help to keep employees healthy year-round, not just in the current coronavirus epidemic.

Allow Remote Working

If your business doesn’t absolutely require that your employees be in the same place together, you may want to consider allowing them to work from home. By spreading your team out, you’ll reduce the risk of transmission and prevent one infected worker from getting everyone else sick. Needless to say, there are some businesses that can’t operate without employees physically on location, but companies that can should seriously consider implementing a remote working policy until health officials are able to get a handle on the crisis.

By taking these four steps, you can protect your employees, your customers, and yourself from the growing threat of coronavirus. Keep in mind that these preventative measures aren’t guaranteed to stop the spread of this virus but can help to reduce the risk of it in your workplace.

Author Bio:

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan