In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a need for socially-distanced workplaces in a way that was never needed before. As companies mandated that many employees work from home, the reality is that many employees across the country were unable to work remotely. In industrial facilities, an employee’s presence is necessary, and many companies scrambled to adhere to social distancing guidelines. If your facility falls into this category, here are some helpful tips for how to make socially-distanced workplaces more employee-friendly.
Position equipment in a distanced, but effective way.
While social distancing is an important concern for the health of your employees, it needn’t be at the expense of productivity. If the equipment in the facility is already positioned in a way that puts employees close together, now is the time to rearrange the furniture and separate out production-necessary machinery. So long as everyone is kept apart, it shouldn’t impact performance and you likely have the space in your facility to accommodate a move.
Give all employees plenty of room.
While the nature of social distancing requires employees to be six feet apart, they can be spread out farther. Employees will work better if they are comfortable, so if you have the space for it, give them even more room. Being apart doesn’t mean crammed in another room and ensuring that each employee has plenty of room to breathe is key to making it comfortable in these circumstances.
Work outside if possible.
Finally, although it may not be possible for all facilities, employees should be able to work outside if group meetings or activities are absolutely necessary. This should not be done if outdoor working is not feasible, but if it is possible, it is certainly a worthy option to consider.
As many companies still struggle to meet socially-distanced guidelines, many still have found comfortable balances to help both productivity and employee health and happiness. At MaintenX, we support all endeavors to make this possible and will help in any way we can through our facility maintenance and equipment management services. To learn more, please call us any time at (855) 751-0075.
