Now that the lockdown is slowly coming to an end, offices and other industrial or commercial facilities are re-opening their doors. But going back to the office is not that simple.

Employees have been working from home and using different routines to reach their goals - and moreover, they are now used to being at home. For many employees, the idea of going back to the office full time makes them nervous, with the ongoing possibility of getting sick.

Due to all this, going back to the office brings new challenges to assure that productivity increases or at least, remains the same. Here are some ways you can best support your workers, resulting in greater productivity:

1. Optimise informatics programs

Although your workers are back in the office, they still need to rely on good computer programs and apps for greater connectedness and productivity. Workers still need to keep their distance and the best online programs can help them overcome it. Programs to handle collaborative projects, instant communication, or work managers, just to name a few, can let them leverage their time and skills.

Also, programs that help them handle documents and emails like Office, Zip, and editing tools, will also allow workers to collaborate on documents and spreadsheets. Online programs also reduce the time workers spend on any task or reducing the time they need to share the result of their work. That is what happens when they unzip files because they can transfer a big volume of data in a file of reduced size. When a colleague then receives the zip. file, it is only necessary to extract the individual files required.

2. Put sanitisation routines in place

When your workers think of their health, it is logical that they have some concerns, namely the chances of getting infected. Those concerns may create some anxiety can affect workplace productivity. To avoid these this, create healthy and sanitary working spaces by implementing sanitisation facilities and routines.

Include anti-bacterial gels and liquids readily available for everyone. Change the distance between different spaces to assure social and physical distance. Additionally, implement temperature control at the beginning of the day. If you notice unusual symptoms, make sure you have a process to send the person home and organise working from home conditions until they recover.

3. Mix home and office routines

After a long period of working from home, some workers might experience some resistance to work full time in the office. Hence, you should consider mixing home and office routines. They might consist of assigning some days for the office and others for home.

Another manner could be to assign part of the day to work from home. Most importantly, you must consult with your workers and employees about their opinion and what makes them feel better regarding the location to work.

4. Internal communication processes

Due to the need to assure physical distance, you must implement internal communication processes. In the past, it was only necessary to call someone to any given place to talk and that was enough, but now, it might not be the safest choice. Hence, you need to implement alternative ways to make sure all your workers communicate safely in the office. But safety is not the only aspect to consider.

It is necessary that communication is effective and allows people to advance in their work. Besides emailing, you must rely on collaborative platforms and video conferences, regardless of if people are in the same office. When you inevitably need to set meetings, you need to assure that workers maintain a proper distance. To do so, you need to plan those meetings in suitable places with open and sanitary facilities.

Final thoughts

These last months made people change many aspects of their lifestyle, and working routines are not an exception. Now that it is time to start going back to normal, it is also time to review what are the best practices to assure the highest productivity at work.

This article was kindly written and contributed by Dea Styles.