What will it take to keep us safe at work?

Faced with a reluctance to return to the office, firms are remaking workplace to coax employees back in

MORE than two thirds of Britons are spurning a return to work amid fears over Covid-19 despite appeals from the Government.

Leading businesses such as Schroders, JP Morgan and Linklaters have told their staff they can work from home. Trains are running at less than a third full and footfall in city centres has collapsed to just 17 per cent of pre-lockdown levels, leaving some retailers facing financial ruin.

Next week’s return of the schools will be critical in determining how many people are prepared to return to work but with surveys consistently showing deep reservations, will they return? What are the obstacles and what can be done to overcome them?

Finance

Workers are saving hundreds of pounds a month by staying at home with no commuting costs and fewer lunches out or pub visits with colleagues. One study suggested it was worth £55 a week on average.

Financial help for journeys to the office could persuade workers to return, according to the Institute of Directors (IOD), either through state subsidies replicating the Chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out restaurant scheme, or by companies paying out.

Goldman Sachs has already offered staff extra perks including free food and an increased subsidy for the bike-to-work scheme. Its bankers can now claim up to £5,000 for a new bike, up from £1,000 before Covid hit.

Free food is also being considered by other firms after a survey by CIPHR, a HR software provider, found it would motivate up to six in 10 workers to return to the office. Some employers have gone further and offered bonuses or extra pay to bring workers back, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Katie Jacobs, of the CIPD, said: “Some employers have paid bonuses or been given extra perks such as a few days’ holiday to differentiate those still going into work.”

Transport

More than 50 per cent of the public are worried about overcrowded commuting, according to Yougov. Train firms have increased services to 90 per cent of pre-covid levels from Monday and say they could double current passenger numbers even allowing for social distancing.

Transport Focus, a watchdog body, has put forward a three-point plan including cut-price ticket deals. They have dubbed it Head Out to Help Out.

More flexible season tickets and “carnets”, which offer a discount for multiple journeys, would benefit the increasing numbers expected to split time between working at home and the office.

Third, it said the highly complex five million fares should be reformed so travellers always got the best value.

A Government-backed app has been launched to send messages and alerts on where there is overcrowding or disruption on trains in real time, so workers can alter or delay travel plans.

The technology, by Zipabout, a start-up, is being extended nationwide to buses and metros and even cycle lanes and crowded pavements. “We need to restore passenger confidence in the public transport network,” said Alex Froom, Zipabout’s founder.

Testing

One of the big fears for employees is whether their work colleagues have the disease even if they are not displaying symptoms.

Testing could provide the answer, according to the Government, which has met with business leaders to discuss how to ramp up the use of mobile testing units in workplaces.

It also means employers conducting regular testing could be allowed to stay open even if there are fresh local lockdowns in their area.

“Workplace testing could provide a useful weapon in the arsenal for helping people return to the office,” said Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the IOD.

A major hurdle is the cost of £100 per test, which means that so far only wealthy employers such as Formula 1, the Premier League and some City firms have introduced it.

The Government has put £1.2million into developing cheaper, faster tests to provide results in under 90 minutes for a third of the cost. The IOD said smaller firms would still need Government subsidies for tests.

Making offices safe

Employers need to recognise that workers will be “reticent” to return which means they will have to have “a stringent strategy in place to protect staff and address concerns,” said Ann Francke, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute.

“This will be best achieved through consulting with staff and ensuring a phased return to the workplace to assist with social distancing,” she added.

One-way traffic systems with corresponding signage on floors, dividing screens between desks, workers placed back-to-back rather than face-to-face on desks spaced two metres apart and bans on hot-desking are among measures recommended in Government and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines.

But some are harnessing technology. For its new City offices, AXA Investment is developing 3D-printed room status flags which digitally change colour if a room is occupied, free, or ready to be cleaned. This is allied to contactless entry and exit to doors and meeting rooms.

Smart Spaces is considering technology that monitors the concentration of particles in the workplace, sensors to calculate an area’s density of occupants to ensure rooms do not get overcrowded, and instant messaging to help those shielding at home to stay in touch.

Working practices

Covid could spell the end of presenteeism as office hours and practices are overhauled to reduce risk.

Reduced breaks and condensed hours have been introduced by some firms as well as requiring workers to stick to the same team of workers like pupils in class bubbles. Others have introduced rotas of the same staff coming in on different days to reduce transmission risks.

British Land has already introduced staggered starts and flexible working.

Its offices opened for volunteers in mid-june, with capacity gradually increasing in July. From early September, most workers will be in for two or three days a week on a rota.

Office space provider Convene has encouraged members to sign an agreement setting out their safety duties. Amy Pooser, its HR boss, said: “This includes basics like regular handwashing, wearing a mask indoors, and staying home if you think you may be ill or have been directly exposed to someone who is sick.”

Masks

Communication, the lifeblood of any office, brings problems. “Speaking generates aerosols so that’s high risk,” said Trish Greenhalgh, Oxford University professor of primary healthcare sciences.

She recommends masks for highrisk office environments such as those working closely together, meeting in poorly-ventilated rooms, in shared communal areas and corridors with less than two metres space to pass.

Working at a computer in a private office would be low risk. Alternatives would be to keep meetings short with few people, hold them outside or via video conferencing.

British employers have been told that masks should be mandatory inside lifts, and lift buttons should be pushed with disposable items such as tissues.

Hygiene and eating at work

Fears of catching the virus from a contaminated light switch or door handle are “very small,” according to the medical journal The Lancet, but it caveated that firms should “err on the side of caution”.

Evidence suggests the virus can survive 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, yet scientists found the genetic material of the virus in the cruise ship cabins of infected passengers 17 days after they had left.

This is why frequent cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces several times a day is important. Jonathan Simpkins, managing director of Bluespace Ltd, recommends removing absorbent furniture and fabric such as comfy chairs unless bleach-friendly, and decluttering desks for cleaning.

Chaotic queues for staff restaurants and tightly packed tables are a risk, which is why the American Industrial Hygiene Association has recommended canteens spread tables out, expand floorspace, stagger meal times, ensure social distancing and add screens between tables.

Other options are packed lunches, takeaways or eating outside.

Childcare

Staggered starts and the closure of many after-school clubs could make it impossible for parents to return to work.

Frances O’grady, TUC general secretary, said not all childcare settings would be open, meaning “employers must be flexible where parents still need childcare, and make sure everyone can travel safely”.

Some firms may also offer staff their own support, particularly in the City. Goldman Sachs already has a nursery at its headquarters in central London.

But ministers may face pressure to provide subsidised childcare as the scale of the problem becomes clear.

‘Workplace testing could provide a useful weapon in the arsenal for helping people return to the office’

‘Employers must be flexible where parents still need childcare, and make sure that everyone can travel safely’