Social Distancing Will Continue For 2 More Years. Here’s How To Manage Your Team & Social Distancing Guidelines While On-The-Job
There’s no denying it—work looks different during a pandemic. For businesses that are open, employees are subject to a maze of procedures, such as temperature checks, increased cleaning protocols and of course—social distancing. And in an effort to continue flattening the curve and keep employees safe, these processes are sure to continue, and amplify, as more businesses roll out their reopening plans.
In fact, how safe the workplace is continues to be a chief concern among workers across the US. According to a weekly poll by advisory firm Brunswick Group, 77% of workers are worried about getting sick themselves, with 80% worrying they will then spread the disease to a loved one. With these heightened concerns, workers have started to question their employers’ level of preparedness, with 23% less positive about their companies' plans.
In an effort to calm fears and protect the health of employees, social distancing continues to be paramount. Why? Because, according to research from the University of Texas at Austin, it’s working, and working so well that modeling studies conducted by Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health speculates that variations of social distancing may extend into 2022. Simply put, social distancing isn’t going anywhere. Which begs the question, how can employers implement and manage social distancing to maintain the safety of their employees now and in the future?
At Proxfinity, we know that social distancing is crucial right now. That’s why we created ResCUE, a reliable smart-signaling badge that can help any business or organization track and manage the spread of COVID-19 easily and effectively, without reliance on GPS, personal devices, app downloads or always-on WiFi or Bluetooth. And we’ve shared why businesses need a solution like ResCUE in their workplace safety plan to help with contact tracing at the enterprise-level. Now, we want to do a deeper dive into the importance of social distancing in the workplace, and the ways that ResCUE can enforce social distance practices in a variety of industries.
With social distancing guidelines firmly in place, open office settings are likely due for a makeover, and while it remains to be seen if the cubicle will make a comeback after the pandemic ends, employers will need to make adjustments to create space between employees. This may mean staggered shifts, adjusted seating arrangements, shield protectors or facing employees away from each other—which will likely feel strange for people used to rubbing shoulders with their colleagues. But, that only works when employees are static—what happens when employees start moving around the office? There needs to be a way to ensure employees adhere to social distancing while in the office—namely devices that can signal when people are entering dangerous proximity to one another.
While corporate offices may be able to implement social distancing easier than others, because employees largely spend their time at their desk—there are a number of other industries where workers operate on-foot, creating a traffic flow that makes social distancing more difficult to enforce, and track. And simple measures like limiting the number of personnel can only do so much. Everything from retail stores, to manufacturing plants, to construction sites experience a high volume of movement, and can only make social distancing truly possible by outfitting workers with wearables that signal when they’ve entered a dangerous distance to one another. These populated environments are at a high risk of transmission, and need reliable solutions in place that can prevent infectious spread, closures and more.
No matter what the working environment, wearables offer a smart solution. With ResCUE, employees can easily carry our badge around their neck or clipped to their hip, which will signal when they come into a programmed distance of one another. They simply put it on, and the badge goes to work automatically so employees can go about their days, while ResCUE logs interaction data for analysis. It’s simple, keeps employees safe, and gives workers one less thing to think about when on the job.
As we continue to grapple with a hazy future, let ResCUE take your mind off of the social distancing challenges within your workplace. At Proxfinity, we’re here to help your business better track and manage COVID-19 disease transmission. Contact us today and request a demo here.
# # #