Because living and working during a global pandemic are so unprecedented, there are few guidelines for how to institute policies regarding wearing personal protective equipment in the office. To best support your employees and keep everyone safe, we have put together a list of ideas for how to put together office PPE policies. We hope these considerations will help make this process more comfortable, and we are also available to provide you with whatever PPE your office needs.
Wear Masks Whenever You’re In The Building
Because the coronavirus is airborne, many offices require the use of a mask whenever in the building. You may want to consider whether employees should be allowed to take off their masks when alone in their offices, as well as if they can remove their masks to eat in public spaces.
Use Gloves and Wash Your Hands
Ideally, people will always have clean hands, but when they get busy with work, they may forget to run over to the sink each time they touch paperwork, to-go boxes, or anything else that other people have also touched. It is a good idea to provide everyone with their own hand sanitizer and also recommend using gloves.
Maintain Social Distancing and Wear PPE When You Can’t
While you will ideally be able to maintain a six-foot social distance at all times, when the situation does not allow for this, you may want to recommend the use of additional PPE. You could suggest that employees use a more effective mask, such as an N95 mask, or that they add a face shield.
Keep Public Areas Clean
Be sure to wash down surfaces frequently with Clorox wipes or another type of disinfectant. This includes tables in meeting rooms, kitchen appliances in the break room, and doorknobs all around the office. This will help eliminate the possibility of receiving the virus through touching surfaces. You can also request that employees put on gloves or wash their hands before touching common surfaces.
Always Keep PPE In Stock
Whether you require your employees to provide their own masks, gloves, face shields, and hand sanitizer or you provide it for them, you should always make sure that there is enough PPE to keep everyone safe. You can easily order PPE and other office materials online through the Corporate Coffee Systems website and ensure that you never run out of your necessities.
Consider Your Employees Opinions
When creating PPE policies, one of the most important things to do is discuss potential options with your employees to understand how they feel about the situation and how you can best make them feel safe. Including everyone in the decision-making process should make them more willing to adhere to the policies later on.
Deciding on PPE policies for returning to work during the coronavirus pandemic can be difficult. Still, hopefully, these ideas will help make this process a bit easier for you and your employees. We want to make sure you and your office stay safe and healthy, while also being productive and getting business done, so we are here to help with all your needs for PPE and other office materials. Give us a call or check out our website for more information about our products.