How bosses can help manage employee COVID-19 anxiety

Just a few short months ago, the entire world seemingly came to a standstill. As infections of COVID-19 began to rise, businesses collectively held their breaths wondering when – if ever – they’d be able to open again. It’s safe to say that things are far from normal these days, especially for businesses.

However as the world slowly begins to open again, and we’re beginning to receive the first trickle of nervous customers back into our business premises, we must recognise the efforts and the risks that we’re putting our employees under.

Employees who’ve anxiously waited to find out if they still have a job to return to, and employees who are frightened to step back into work and potentially expose themselves to COVID-19. As an employer, it’s always been your responsibility to keep your staff safe in the workplace, and now more than ever your employees are going to look to you to keep them safe and help keep their concerns low.

Here we’ll explore how bosses can help manage employee COVID-19 anxiety.

Invest in high-quality PPE

Protecting your staff is made a lot simpler with PPE for Coronavirus – click the link to find out more. Asking staff to wear face masks, coverings and shields not only helps them to stay safe from members of the public, but it also reduces the risk of them taking home the virus to friends and family. Encouraging the use of high-quality PPE shows that you’re investing in their safety and it should help to quell their anxiety or dealing with asymptomatic members of the public – and each other!

Discuss their preferences

If you’ve had staff working from home during the pandemic, then it makes sense to continue allowing them to work from home where possible. Reach out to your employees individually and ask them what their working preferences are.

If some staff prefer to work from home to protect themselves or their high-risk family members, then you should respect that preference. Asking employees about their preferences will help to keep their anxieties about returning to work at a minimum, especially if staff are concerned that they’ll have no choice.

Make plenty of changes

Following government guidelines during this difficult time will certainly help employees feel much more comfortable about returning to the workplace. Discuss the changes that you’ve implemented at length, whether that’s enforcing the 1/2m rule, one-way systems or staggered start times for your staff. The more you show that you’re making active changes and taking their safety seriously, the more comfortable they’ll be. If you undertake a risk assessment before re-opening, share the results with them.

And finally, listen

This situation is unprecedented. And your staff may not want to return due to high-risk family members at home, if they’re caring for children whilst schools are closed or if they’re worried about catching the virus. As an employer trying to manage employee anxiety it’s vital that you listen to each employee and take as many steps as possible to keep them safe and give them the confidence to return to the workplace.