Health and wellbeing challenges in the work place in the post-COVID world

COVID-19 has permanently changed the way we live and work. In order to successfully navigate the pandemic and remain economically viable, organizations have had to demonstrate significant agility, flexibility and resilience.

As organizations have been forced to pivot, finding innovative solutions to rapidly changing conditions, long-held views of how things must, or should, be done in the work place have been repeatedly challenged. For instance, we learned that working on-site was not as important as we once believed. Instead, working from home was not only possible, but could increase productivity in some instances, whilst also providing a better work-life balance for many.

In addition to such structural changes, work systems and practices have also been the subject of much scrutiny. We have repeatedly seen that where shortcomings in systems and practices already existed, the pandemic amplified such deficiencies, particularly in industry sectors that work with more vulnerable members of society. For example, where existing hygiene practices in health care, aged care or disability settings were already lacking or sub-standard pre-pandemic, the added burden of COVID-19 further highlighted, and compounded, these inadequacies.

If any positive can be drawn from the devastation of the pandemic, it is that organizations and employees alike have been afforded the opportunity to re-assess their priorities and re-imagine what ‘work’ looks like in a post-COVID world. As the world emerges from lockdown and attempts to achieve a ‘new normal’ are underway, organizations are invited to embrace the challenge, reframing it as an opportunity to build back better and stronger.

First and foremost, considerations for what post-COVID workplaces should look like necessarily involves recognizing and supporting organizations’ most valuable resource; their employees. Implementing appropriate health and well-being measures to minimize the risk of employees contracting COVID-19, as well as managing the anxiety that those employees returning to work on-site would naturally feel, is not only a moral obligation, but an economic imperative, in order to maximise productivity.

These same principles apply to the health and safety of customers, both in the private (such as retail, hospitality, tourism and fitness) and public (such as education, health, aged care and disability) sectors. In this ‘new normal’, customers now perform a conscious risk assessment of their environment which factors into decision-making on goods and services. It is commonplace for customers to patronise an establishment based on their assessments around cleanliness, occupancy limits and social distancing requirements, whether a venue is well ventilated, hand cleansing facilities and the like. If such customers are to avail themselves of an organization’s goods or services, they must first feel safe to do so.

Implementing appropriate health and well-being measures can minimize the risk of employees contracting COVID-19 and the anxiety of employees returning to work

Organizations cannot eliminate risk completely, but they can minimise it through thoughtful re-design and practices. Some simple and obvious changes, such as social distancing, mask-wearing or handwashing/sanitization can be done with little effort or cost. Other changes, such as increased ventilation or air purification and increased disinfection of hard surfaces and equipment may present an increased challenge, but nonetheless be considered an essential aspect of some organizations’ business models going forward. Industries that may wish to consider this higher level of protection to increase safety, productivity and consumer confidence, include those that deal with vulnerable communities (such as the health care, aged care and disability sectors) or necessarily involve large numbers of people in very close proximity (such as the education, tourism, hospitality, and fitness sectors).

Planeteq is an authorised representative of the patented Surfacide Helios® UV-C Disinfection System. The System is an adjunct to, and not replacement for, current cleaning practices and is designed to provide an added layer of protection and confidence. It utilizes three UV-C light emitting robots that dispense artificial ultraviolet (UV) radiation to inactivate the DNA of many bacteria, fungi and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), preventing their ability to multiply. As a ‘smart’ technology, it is operated by an easy-to-use wireless hand-held controller, and uses laser mapping to automatically adjust the cycle length for the space and increase efficiency of sanitization. Made to exacting standards in the United States, it is manufactured under an ISO 13485 quality management system and has been independently evaluated and tested to assure product safety.

If you would like further information about this product, please contact Planeteq.