Page 59 - OHS, October 2020

Essentially: be the voice of calm
in this uncertain realm.
educate. Education reduces fear in many situations. It also offers consistency.
Planning for the New Normal
With our new normal of COVID-19 in place since earlier this year, added stressors abound. Extreme shortages of PPE/PPA require thinking outside the box for staff protection and corporate survival. More than ever before, you have to communicate with staff. Some will be frightened, others dismissive. Continue to explain and train. Listen to their concerns. Rotating staffing, staggering workspaces, allowing telework and expanding work schedules may helping your workforce and company. Provide real resources for updated information to staff so that workers are not getting all information from social media. Essentially: be the voice of calm in this uncertain realm.
Make sure EAP programs are on board and available. Have supervisors regularly check on staff—not for attendance but for their safety. Give relief to your HR staff who will also be heavy burdened during this long-term, slow-moving disaster. Expect employees to be frightened, make sure they understand their value to the company and that you are doing all you can to provide them the tools to keep working.
It is a balancing act, without a doubt. You want the work to continue, but you need to help that happen safely and with workers’ health in mind. It is time to be realistic, and as safety leadership, you have to chime in on these tough decisions well in advance for how to best protect your employees and keep the mission of the company moving forward.
Ask yourself if your site or facility safety program considers all the planned and unforeseen hazards to protect workers from potential small- and large-scale disasters. Do you have additional safeguards in place for planning and eliminating larger issues that will impact your corporate bottom line?
Linda J Sherrard, MS, CSP, is Safety Consultant II for North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Central Prison Healthcare Complex in Raleigh, NC and is the former technical editor of Occupational Health and Safety. She can be reached at ljohnsonsherrard@nc.rr.com
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