MAY 8 — Return to work is about start, and there is a national hype to get things going again. But do take a minute to stop and wonder; are we jumping the gun? Yes, work can start again, good, but are our customers again ready to make orders as there were before? Are employers ready to adapt to the new norms? Here are some of the things that must be considered for the well-being of employees:
1.Stake holders, Human Resource personnel, SOCSO and employers must consider the following:
·Start production at a slow and steady pace- you do not want to have an oversupply in the market due to poor orders uptake again resulting in another bout of money bleed again.
·To have a special allocation of leave for employees affected by Covid-19 especially for those in quarantine/isolation. Their current sick-leave of 14-21 days might not be adequate — a forced quarantine will eat-up into this. In the long run, it might result some of them losing their annual leave and perhaps even income (unpaid leave). Even more so for daily wage earners. The question remains: how many days should they be given a year for this? Staff that have been given the clear after the virus should not only undergo a medical health return-to-work screening but a mental-health assessment as well.
·There must be some form of SOCSO compensation for those whom are quarantined/isolated/admitted due to Covid-19 for daily wage earners.
·In the event of quarantine/isolation- allow staff to work from home without affecting their quarantine leave etc. Give the employees the liberty to choose if they are well enough to work from home or not.
·Allow staff to work from home at least 1-3 x a week.
2. There should be no overtime as there was prior to the pandemic. Staff scheduling to be altered
·Staff should not be allowed to overtly commit to overtime- there will be a tendency especially with some employers trying to make up for lost time/profits. Staff whom may have had their mental health affected during the pandemic might suffer from relapses. Having these mental and physical stresses due to overworking might result in an increase in the rate of sick-leave/absenteeism. This will domino effect into making other staff come in causing the next suggested system to not work.
·Staff should be scheduled to come-in at different times- regular changing of shifts will reduce contact among staff, limiting the number of workers at a time and thus prevent overcrowding. This has to be thought through properly though- having a too near change may cause confusion and overcrowding during the change.
·Staff should have different breaks/lunch hours so that there won’t b overcrowding of pantries. Time between each break slot should also be done so that it gives cleaning staff an opportunity to clean the place after one break period.
3. Making the work place infective-free/prevention education
· Staff should be allotted he following if the building design/workplace design is suitable
i. Punch-in and punch-out should be via QR codes (contactless- handphone linked with GPS to ensure location of punch in) and if possible, there should be a limit of the number of people that can enter a lift at one go- best use the stairs- social distancing possible but one has to be careful about holding the railings etc.
ii.Staff should be given adequate PPE and according to their contacts/ workplace appropriateness. Preference of more sophisticated materials given to those frontliners dealing with the public (those receptionist staff etc). This includes sanitisation materials.
iii. For toilets to be allotted if multiple present on the same floor. For those with only one toilet- suggest for a signalling system (occupied/ not occupied) in the common area so that staff will not crowd around the toilet to use it.
iv. Disinfecting work place common areas- toilets, pantries etc regularly. This must be done with disinfectants.
v. Educating and re-educating staff daily- using a daily announcement system/signage on basic hand hygiene- to wear masks/PPE always and to Social Distance. Reminders of new rules and regulations- especially on breaks should be sent from time to time- preferably in electronic forms.
vi. For those dealing with public, a number system for people to come into the premises for an appointment- perhaps via WhatsApp/SMS/call so that they can wait in their cars/ other areas so that they do not crowd at one place. For walk-ins, best install a wireless intercom system so that in and out in close areas are monitored. For bigger institutions, it is time to have an online FAQ site, encourage emailing/WhatsApp or online forms for appointments and enquiries.
Although the step may seem drastic but the dynamics of it is needed to ensure that we win the war against Covid-19.
* Dr. Arvinder-Singh HS is a Medical Officer with a Masters in Health Research and is currently pursuing a PhD in Community Health focusing on adolescent athletes’ health.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
