Ontario Construction News staff writer
As provinces begin slowly easing physical distancing restrictions, Canadian organizations must consider a return of their employees to physical workplaces. However, with COVID-19 still active, employees remain concerned about potential risks.
The Conference Board of Canada released its Working Through COVID-19 โ Return to Work Survey recently, detailing how Canadian organizations are planning to bring employees back to physical workplaces, and what safety measures they are putting in place.
โFor employees returning to workplaces, safety will be paramount. The virus will likely find loopholes in safety measures we put in place,โ said Allison Cowan, Director Human Capital at The Conference Board of Canada. โEmployers will need to continually adapt, and this could include bringing employees back and then having to close workplaces again.โ
Here are some highlights of the survey results:
- Only eight per cent of organizations are fully prepared to re-open workplaces.
- Most organizations will ask employees at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 to remain home.
- With schools and family support services closed, many organizations have indicated that employees with caregiving responsibilities would also be exempt from returning to the workplace.
- A phased approach is the top choice for employers who are bringing employees back to the workplace. Other top measures being implemented include restricting the number of people on-site and controlling on-site movement.
Many organizations surveyed indicated a shift to remote work post-pandemic.
โEmployers are telling us itโs too early to make decisions about what will be in place long-term. This crisis has presented an opportunity to re-think traditional work,โ Cowan said.
Survey responses were collected on May 11 and 294 organizations responded. These findings are part of The Conference Board of Canadaโs Working Through COVID-19 series.