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Guide to adapting a workplace environment to alleviate returning workers’ fears

After the lockdown restrictions pass, many businesses will be looking for solutions to improve protection for employees. The rapid spread of Covid-19 has revealed many weaknesses in the set-up and safety of workplaces, but Mark Picken, CEO at Shire Leasing, is optimistic that UK businesses can adapt.
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After the lockdown restrictions pass, many businesses will be looking for solutions to improve protection for employees and customers against a whole raft of potential viruses. The rapid spread of Covid-19 has revealed many weaknesses in the set-up and safety of workplaces, but there’s optimistism that UK businesses can adapt.

Why must UK businesses adapt?

It is imperative for business leaders to be able to reopen workplaces in the confidence that employees, customers and the business can be shielded as much as possible from Covid-19 and that will likely mean adapting the workplace environment to manage and mitigate the risk.

There are reasons to approach necessary change with a positive mindset, as the benefits could extend beyond protection against Covid-19. Cases of other illnesses, such as flu, the common cold and chest infections, hurt productivity and, ultimately, the bottom line. Reducing the spread of viral illnesses in workplaces could lead to greater employee wellbeing which, in turn, can encourage loyalty, boost customer relations and increase the growth and profitability of a business as a whole.

But adaption needs to be affordable

The good news is that solutions to help protect workforces from viral infections already exist and can be implemented into any office environment. Thermographic cameras can be used to screen staff entering the building to isolate potential fever cases at the door, people flow systems can be integrated into busy areas, such as canteens, to ensure that there is enough space for employees to effectively social distance and sanitisation stations can help to promote good hygiene.

But cash is precious and may be limited, so how can we implement the necessary changes, without excessive expense?

Leasing has spurred advancement and adaptation in the UK for many decades. £32.6 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector to support investment in new equipment last year, and this amount contributed to over a third of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software. 1

Why is there a preference for leasing agreements over other means of finance? Because it allows businesses to preserve vital cash reserves and alleviate cashflow by distributing the costs over an agreed term, as well as providing a fixed interest rate. This perfectly suits times of uncertainty and crisis.

These benefits are particularly significant for business survival post-lockdown. Employees may worry about the risk of contracting Covid-19 even after the lockdown restrictions end and offices are allowed to reopen. Additionally, trade unions have entered the debate on workplace safety post-lockdown, and there is a risk that employees “may refuse to turn up unless safety is guaranteed”.2 In fact, we are witnessing this very dilemma right now as some workers are returning to their jobs, and children are set to return to classrooms.

Lack of available cash resource should not be a barrier to adapting workplaces to protect employees and to get back to ‘business as usual’; leasing could be the key to survival in a post-crisis, supremely competitive world.

What action could be taken to protect workplaces against Covid-19?

Only taking measures to create social distancing between employees may not be enough to protect against an outbreak; it would be far better to prevent the virus from entering the building if possible, and thermographic cameras could help to achieve this.

These cameras use thermal imaging to detect and reveal an elevated body temperature (EBT), which can identify a possible fever case. Although these systems cannot diagnose particular viral infections, they can potentially pick up on an early symptom before the employee is aware that they might be unwell. Employees presenting as possible fever cases could be advised to work from home while symptoms persist to prevent the virus from entering the workplace.

There may be other reasons than a fever for displaying EBT, including a fast cycle or walk to work. But the purpose of fever screening is to identify and isolate potential risk. False-positives, such as employees who display an EBT due to exertion, should become clear within a matter of minutes and an integrated system is far more streamlined and proactive towards social distancing measures than having every employee take their temperature with a thermometer at the door.

There is no better time to adapt the workplace environment than right now, while many offices are still empty, and installation of systems would not cause any disruption.

For business leaders, investing in such systems makes sense from both a humanitarian and business point of view, and may help to alleviate their and their workers’ concerns about the environment in which they are going to have to return to.

References:

  1. https://www.fla.org.uk/media/facts-and-figures/
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/04/uk-unions-criticise-guidance-on-returning-to-work-for-being-inadequate

 

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