As limits ease, companies have their work cut out
NEW PROTOCOL: Businesses make adjustments for employees’ return
Thousands of employees working from home over the past few weeks will likely be returning to work as early as Friday after Gov. Greg Abbott said some businesses could reopen after more than a month of stayat-home orders had kept them shut.
Companies are getting ready for the return of their employees by moving desks farther apart, buying masks and hand sanitizer and changing the standard workday so some employees start early and others start late so fewer people are in the workplace at any one time to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The law firm AZA Law in Houston has ordered plastic shields to put up around the reception area, said managing partner John Zavitsanos. Human resources is working on a new lunch schedule to reduce congestion in the lunchroom and hired a special cleaning company to
spray the keyboards, chairs and desk tops three times a week with a super disinfectant.
Zavitsanos said he expects all 100 lawyers and administrative employees to be back in the office Monday unless an employee or family member is sick — or government officials extend the work-at-home order. He said he wants to do his part to inject spending back into the economy.
“I want them driving and I want them burning gas,” he said. “I want them to stop off and buy their morning coffee.”
Stay-at-home orders, which were first issued here around mid-March, aimed to close all but essential businesses, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, in an effort to reduce coronavirus infections before they overwhelmed the health care system. The shutdowns have battered a range of industries and companies and put some 26 million Americans out of work, including more than 1.3 million Texans.
Fifty-four percent of U.S. employers said they’ll adjust work schedules to limit the number of employees in the office at any given time, according to a survey of employers by the human resource consulting firm Mercer. Forty-three percent of employers said they’ll allow employees to continue working from home.
The Greater Houston Partnership, the business-financed economic development group, doesn’t have any immediate plans to bring its 85 employees back to the office. All are working remotely and it will be like that for several more weeks, said spokesman A.J. Mistretta.
NRG Energy, one of the biggest generators and sellers of electricity in Texas, plans to keep employees working remotely until May 29, said spokeswoman Pat Hammond.
Many companies are looking to regulators to prepare for the return of employees. While the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration hasn’t issued specific coronavirus standards for workplace safety, the agency has suggestions for employers to limit infection by promoting frequent hand washing, providing boxes of tissues and discouraging workers from using other people’s desks, phones, computers and other equipment.
Many companies have focused on creating at least 6 feet of distance between employees, customers and visitors to meet social-distancing standards. Some are limiting the number of people who can occupy an office by alternating employee in-office days and discouraging any physical contact. The elbow bump has replaced the handshake.
But what to do about job interviews?
Before the spread of the coronavirus, the Houston staffing agency Murray Resources interviewed job candidates in person unless they were from out-oftown. But since early March, the staffing agency that places engineers, accountants and other technical, industrial and professional workers in energy and other industries has interviewed all 450 job candidates through the website, Zoom.
The video interviews have been an effective substitute for in-person interviews because they still give a sense of a candidate’s professionalism, enthusiasm and ability to communicate effectively, said managing director Keith Wolf.
Website interviews are also easier to schedule and coordinate, said Wolf. A candidate can hop on a Zoom call right after work and still have dinner with their family. Or they can take the call over their lunch break, where it typically wouldn’t be practical to drive back and forth for an interview, depending on the distance.
“But you do miss some of the subtleties that you get in person,” said Wolf, “such as their ability to maintain proper eye contact.” And to give a firm handshake.
Interviewers pay attention to the social cues of applicants who demonstrate composure, confidence and getting along with others. It’s how they treat the receptionist. Or how they respond if someone interrupts the meeting, said Wolf. That’s more difficult, he said, to do on a Zoom call.