WISH for essential workplaces: Strategies and resources
Strategies and resources for focusing on working conditions
Physical environment—reduce the risk of transmission
- Increase ventilation of fresh air and use high-efficiency air filters
- Install physical barriers or use a drive-through window for interactions with customers (related article)
- Mark acceptable social distances (6 feet) with tape on the floor at check-out counters
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Provide personal protective equipment (ex: gloves, masks) and ensure workers know how to use them correctly (related information)
- Provide workers with materials and instructions to make their own masks if the organization is unable to procure
- Encourage employees to change clothing before leaving work, to limit the chances of bringing the virus into their homes
- Provide soap and hand sanitizer to employees, and display instructions for hand washing
- Sanitize work areas frequently
- Clean equipment and tools (more information)
Organization of work
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Adjust how schedules are set
- Implement “block scheduling”—divide your group into teams who work only with one another to limit the number of people a worker is exposed to
- Schedule staff to work fewer days each week (ex: 3 12-hour days/week)
- Stock shelves during hours when a store is closed, to limit staff interaction with customers
- Provide notice of schedule changes in advance so employees can plan accordingly and balance job and home responsibilities
- Ensure consistent and regular breaks, be flexible with break times, and ensure frequent hand-washing breaks; consider increasing the number of breaks, which can reduce fatigue and increase productivity
- Establish or enhance paid sick leave policies, to encourage those who are sick to not come to work
Psychosocial—increase social support now and after the crisis
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Provide managerial support
- Ask how workers are doing; provide opportunities for them to share concerns
- Recognize the efforts and dedication of workers regularly
- Increase availability and awareness of resources (ex: EAP, meditation apps)
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Address work/life issues with staff
- Increase availability of backup child care
- Allow for flexible hours, when possible
- Encourage working offsite when appropriate with needed technical support
- Communicate as much as possible and be transparent about reasoning behind decisions
Strategies and resources for participation
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Provide opportunities for employees to share ideas about increasing safety and health, and express their own concerns about safety and health at work
- Hold daily team huddles, each with a focus on a specific issue related to working during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Be available for one-on-one conversations
- Create a suggestion board (real, virtual, or in other creative ways) that everyone can contribute to and view
- Be open to hearing concerns about potential sources of increased risk
- Ensure employees can report incidents without fear of retaliation
- Get input from workers about how to put new policies into practice. Having workers contribute gives them a sense of ownership and helps relieve the burden of managers to find solutions by themselves
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In one-on-one and group conversations, ask workers three questions:
- What’s going well, and what could be improved?
- What about work is impacting your health positively and negatively?
- What can the team/unit/employer do to help your health and well-being during the pandemic?
Strategies and resources for comprehensive and collaborative strategies
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Establish a joint worker-management task force with representation from different departments/areas of the organization and levels of employees
- Provide consistent messages and best practices about COVID-19 across the organization
- Create opportunities for different areas of your organization to collaborate and learn from one another
- Learn from best practices implemented in other organizations
- Coordinate efforts to reduce duplication and increase efficiency
- Adopt strategies from other organizations in your industry (See a list of "industry-specific guidance" on our COVID-19 resources page)
Strategies and resources for leadership commitment
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Use reliable sources, like public health organizations, to inform your decision-making and communications with employees
- Public health organizations include:
- Set an example by ensuring all leadership and managers follow safe practices, including using sick leave when appropriate
- Act on employees’ concerns. This demonstrates to the employees that you care about their safety and health, and this may also help build trust and boost morale
- Communicate clearly about the policies and practices you are putting into place to protect worker safety and health during the COVID crisis.
Strategies and resources for adherence
- Learn about your state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, so you can ensure you are following local requirements and recommendations (state health departments)
- Update policies so that all employees can receive paid sick-leave
- Protect employee confidentiality and privacy when reporting confirmed COVID-19 cases while maintaining transparency about exposure
Strategies and resources for data-driven action
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Determine ways to measure actions taken and the outcomes. Consider the following outcomes:
- Social distancing
- Limiting employee infection rates
- Prevention of employees coming to work while sick
- Lessened emotional or financial stress
- Reduced conflict between work and home
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Make data collection as simple and fast as possible by using data you already have
- Employee sick-leave data
- Existing surveys
- Monitoring work hours or schedules
- Quickly gather new data through brief informal discussions or surveys during check-ins or via email