What to Expect When You Get Back to the Office After Lockdown: Get Ready to Return to Work and Identify Your Return to Work Plan (2020)

The COVID 19 pandemic has changed the world in ways that nobody could have predicted or anticipated. Terms like Social Distancing and guidelines like frequent hand wash are becoming a part of our life.

Even as we adjust to the new normal there are a lot of things we now have to consider. Part of it is going back to the office after a long time in these changed circumstances. Workplaces have been taking precautions in order to ensure that employees and workers follow proper norms while working. However, much would depend on our proactive approach and determination to continue following preventive norms.

The WHO, various medical bodies and Governments of all the countries have been releasing the guidelines for both employers as well as the employees. These guidelines are helpful in preparing the offices and workplaces for employees to return back. Now, employers are taking all the precautions such as motion sensing hand wash and sanitizer bottles, rotational shifts and so on.

It is also important for the employees to be cautious on their end. If your employer is providing guidelines then it should be followed. Flouting norms might not be a good idea because you would put your colleagues at risk too of getting infected.

Don't compromise with regular hand washing even at the workplace. Moreover, there are higher chances of getting infected around in public places. Using sanitiser is a must.

Employers and organizations are leaving no stones unturned in making workplaces ready for life after COVID-19. However, the contribution of employees would ensure the success or failure of these measures. Do follow the social distancing norms while going back to the office after working from home.

Restricted cubicles, distant work stations and no entry zones should be defined by the offices to make sure that employees are not in close proximity with each other when back to the office after a long time. Following the distancing rules would benefit both employers and employees to run the operations smoothly.

A lot will change as the organizations across the world gear up to open and call their employees back to the office after a long time. Preparations are in full force across the board to ensure that employees transition smoothly. When you go back to the workplace, the office might not be the same and some places such as community hall, gym or play area might be out of reach.

Now, working without these recreational activities could be monotonous. However, organizations also know that and hence they have been asking the employees to join the training programs. These training programs would help the workforce to tackle the situation better, understand the dos’ and don'ts’ in the organization and retain a healthy working environment.

Most of the guidelines released for the workplaces are advocating rotating shifts when employees return back to office after working from home. The reason behind this is that employees will be exposed less to the external environment and also come less in contact with the fellow colleagues. If your office is yet to release any such guideline then ask your manager regarding the same. Rotating shift will ensure that at no point of time there are a lot of people in the office. More significantly, the places such as cafeteria, canteens and other public places will have less people and therefore chances of infection will reduce considerably.

Well, working from home and in rotating shifts will be a new normal when the world opens after COVID 19 subsides. In such a scenario it becomes even more important to build coordination with the rest of the team. In order to make sure that the process is smooth and there is no gap in the information provided across the organizations, companies are various types of collaborative tools.

For employees coming back to the office after lockdown, it is important to acquaint themselves with the productive tools and understand how they can enhance their performance and coordination among the team. While many organizations will invest heavily in such collaborative tools over the months to come, there are several free tools also that can help you on an individual level to organize your daily task and keep track of it.

In such dark times when there is no end in sight for this deadly disease, it’s only natural that we all feel a little out of place. Offices will not be buzzing with people as they used to and a sense of loneliness might bring down your productivity. In such a scenario, it is very important to prepare yourself mentally before starting in the workplace. There would be situations where the common places and community halls will be locked out and your movement within the office will also be restricted. Most of the organizations have restricted the number of employees who can go places like the cafeteria at once. So sitting all alone during coffee breaks is something you would need to cope up with when going back to the office after a long time. The best way to allay all such low feelings is to know that the more religiously we follow the social distancing rules and regulations, the sooner situation will be under the control giving all of us all normal lives back.

If not couch potatoes, in all these days we have definitely become a bit laid back, working from the comfort of our home. There has been a host of researches proving how the productivity of the employees gets affected due to exhausting commuting hours. Braving the traffic and reaching office in a rush has become an alien concept to us in all these days. Of course, the return to that scenario is going to take a toll on our mental peace and also physical comfort. Rather than succumbing to the pressure, start following the routine that you used to while going to work. Things like taking a shower, having breakfast and wearing formals before going to office should be practiced even when working from home. Above all, you should never let go of the feeling that this arrangement is temporary and at some point in time you will have to go back to the office after a long time.

Even when in the office, make sure that frequent visit to the conference and meeting rooms is not a wise idea. If multiple teams are using the same rooms for meetings, then the chances of getting infected always become very high. While most of the organizations are keeping these areas in office locked down, employees should understand their own responsibilities while using these areas when going back to the office after working from home. For instance, ask the administration team to ensure proper sanitization of the rooms, table, chairs and all the equipment in conference rooms before and after the gathering. There is little doubt in the fact that avoiding any massive gathering is out the best defence against corona. However, there are also chances that the team has to come together under unavoidable circumstances. In such a situation, sanitization, disinfectant and cleaning of the rooms should be mandatory.

Given that we are going back to the office after a long time, a sudden transformation might not fit well with some of the employees. You might have to sort out various things such as taking care of the kid at home. For instance, working couples will not have anyone to look after the kid if they both go to the office. They would not want to leave their kid on someone else’s responsibility such as a nanny or domestic help, given the nature of COVID 19. In such cases, you can ask the management to keep flexible work from home options. Both you and your partner can divide the work from home days and office days alternatively. Similarly, if you elderly living with you who need proper care then too having a flexible work from home would be of great help. At a time when social distancing is the only potent defence around the infection, you would definitely not want visitors in your house to put a family at risk.

Public transports made our lives so much easier over all these years. Then came a new concept of carpools and two-wheeler pools which revolutionized the way we commute to the workplace. Not only having someone trusted to pick you up from home and drop to work is convenient but also cuts down your monthly commuting bills drastically. However, with the breakout of coronavirus, people have become more hesitant in taking public conveyance or pooling with someone else.

It would not be wrong to say that you are exposing yourself to grave challenges by pooling the car or taking a public conveyance for office. It would be better to commute through your own personal conveyance. However, not every one of us will have a personal vehicle. In such cases, make sure that the public transports you are taking is not overloaded with people and everyone is following social distancing norms. Even if you are pooling the vehicle then try to limit to just one rather than going for multiple options.

Perhaps the biggest responsibility on all of us right now is to make sure that we do not hide the corona symptoms. There have been so many cases where the person who is experiencing symptoms is trying to hide it from others. You are doing the worst thing in such a case because others might get infected too. It is only natural to get worried and be a little afraid too if you feel that the infection has caught you. However, hiding it from others will only make your situation worse because of a lack of proper care and early treatment. In the process, you might also end up infecting the near and dear ones, colleagues and anyone who came in contact with you. We have both social and moral responsibility towards the society in these dark hours.

Lunch hours in office have been all about sharing the good food over interesting conversations. For sure, we are going to miss that for a while. At a time when staying away from loved once has become a new form of caring, we should be extra cautious while sharing our belongings and even food. Do not share food or any other edible item with your colleagues. This will ensure your as well as the safety of your loved ones.

The world is hit hard by Coronavirus pandemic and throughout the year we have come across multiple conspiracy theories and rumours. However, it is up to us to believe blindly in such stories or do due diligence beforehand. These rumours might look harmless in the beginning but could be dangerous if more people start believing in it. As we start believing in rumours, it might very well start reflecting on our behaviour as well. Therefore, do not blindly believe anything that you read or hear about COVID-19.

Don’t just sit all day long and follow the statistics on the global COVID cases. We all know that the cases will keep on coming we can only try to be safe on our end. Following the norms and keeping social distancing are the best measures. Too much news can affect your mental health causing anxiety and depression.

Fear gives way to mistrust and there has been plenty of both this year. Falling prey to rumours and false propaganda people are just starting to blame one particular community or nationality for COVID-19 spread. It is in our and society’s best interest to not believe in rumours and form a biased opinions towards a particular community, nationality or group of people.