How did you cope with Freedom Day in your business?
As COVID-19 restrictions were eased on Monday the 19th of July, employers needed to consider the mental health aspect of their employees even more than usual as they adapt to many new ways of working as well as their physical Health & Safety. There are still many anxious people that are worried about getting back to some kind of normality.
As a business owner how did you cope with the changes?
How did your staff cope with the changes?
As you know your top priority is to look after their wellbeing and getting them safely back to work, and all the new ways of working, and to also keep an eye on their mental health.
All employers have a legal duty to protect employees in their workplace, so they need to be carrying risk assessments out on a regular basis. Employers need to act as quickly as possible to get these documents in place for when the staff all returning back to the workplace. Many companies are carrying out staged return to work days and also different start times and also offering time to work at home.
As we know, the hospitality sector has been particularly badly affected, with so many restaurants and establishments closed for many, many months, and some haven’t actually re-opened. Many businesses over the last few months been asking staff to come back and work from the office and some businesses are still in the process of doing this. Every company is different and will carry out their procedures in a different way. This is ok – there is no right or wrong way.
There’s lots of different support mechanisms that employers can have a look at and put into place, ready for when their staff are back to work, and start to create a culture where workers feel able and equipped to take on these new challenges.
You may not know what your members of staff are going through, so we have to be very kind and considerate and talk, just keep communicating with everybody. As you know the HSE, the health and safety executive requires employers to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing and welfare of all the workers and clients and there is so much information available to support you on your journey.
There’s going to be different demands on the staff, on the business, such as workload, work patterns, and the environment may have changed. Some companies are going to control how many people are in the workplace, what they do, is there enough space? Is there enough time to do all these extra pieces of work?
Let’s think a little bit about employees more, and obviously if you need any help, I’m always here to help.
Email me at joanne@chestnutassociates.co.uk
