What to Do When Your Staff is Suddenly Teleworking

As a business owner, you’ve always been responsible for keeping your workplace safe. That includes taking action to help decrease the spread of the COVID-19 virus. A common way employers are doing this and keeping their operations going is by allowing employees to work from home. If your employees are new to teleworking or have been doing so already, these tips can help you keep them safe while working at home.

Setting up the home workstation

Many of your new teleworkers may have never thought about working from home, let alone working safely from home. First, consider setting a policy for working from home that includes your safety rules in addition to internet and security requirements, expectations of the employee’s work hours, performance, and communication.

Next, ensure that your employees set aside a dedicated workspace and are equipped with a computer. They will need to set up their home workstations correctly. You can help them do that by following the advice from our Ergo team below.

tips on home office

Different work space, same safety requirements

Did you know that many office hazards are also prevalent in a home office environment? Here are some safety guidelines your workers should follow:

Keep clear walkways leading to and from the home office workplace to prevent slips, trips, and falls.
To avoid fire hazards, make sure all electrical cords and plugs are in working order. Examine them for tears and frayed wires before use, and discard damaged items.
If possible, use an ergonomic office chair.
Have plenty of lighting in the work area to promote better health and productivity. Insufficient lighting or glare from a strong light source in the workplace can impact the way workers sit and cause discomfort.
If using a laptop, an external keyboard, mouse, and separate monitor can help prevent eye, neck, and shoulder strain.
Practice the 20-20-20 rule to help prevent digital eye strain when working at the home office.

We may not have much control over the current situation, but by providing your employees with information, tips, and examples on how to set up a workstation, you can help them work safely during this emergency. Together, we will get through this!

What to Do When Your Staff is Suddenly Teleworking

Setting up the home workstation

Additional Resources

Different work space, same safety requirements

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