With businesses bringing employees back to the workplace, questions, and concerns about COVID-19 remain. The pandemic isn’t over, and the situation is still fluid. Employees and business owners need training so they understand the risks associated with the coronavirus and ways that they can protect themselves, customers, and the general public.
Companies Have to Develop and Implement Protocols
The infection rate and vaccination rate vary from location to location and shift from day to day. In addition, government policies and recommendations can and do change. It can be difficult for business owners and employees to keep up and to know how all those facts and guidelines affect them.
Company leaders have to take relevant information into account and create guidelines that make sense for their specific business. Companies in various industries have a wide range of operating procedures and differ in terms of the number of employees they have, how and when they work, and the risks they face.
Business leaders may be able to use social distancing, hybrid work arrangements that limit time in the office, or staggered shifts to limit contact and reduce the risk of transmission. If employees have to work at one physical location, employers may decide to implement other rules. For example, employers may require face coverings, mandate or recommend that employees get vaccinated, or require frequent testing and quarantine for individuals who test positive.
It may also be wise to limit business-related travel. Employers may decide to conduct meetings virtually as much as possible, to only authorize employee travel when it is absolutely necessary, and to enforce quarantine rules for workers before they may return to the office.
Schedule Workplace Safety Training
Employees face a number of risks at work, in addition to COVID-19. They should receive training that is appropriate for the types of jobs they perform and the risks they might encounter.
Accidents can result in serious injuries, which is why it’s important to provide first aid training. In addition, workers should know how to perform CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to treat a person suffering from cardiac arrest. Employees in some fields may need OSHA compliance training or instruction related to bloodborne pathogens, forklift operation, or handling of hazardous substances.
Workers in any type of business may face a wide range of disasters and should know how to respond. Courses on how to use a fire extinguisher and how to respond to an earthquake or another type of natural disaster can empower employees to save their own lives and those of others.
SoCal First Aid offers these and other types of workplace training. A member of our team can visit your business and conduct a training session where your employees can learn valuable information and skills. Contact us today to schedule a class.