As the pandemic hits, offices worldwide have been just left empty to prevent further clusters of Covid-19 exposures. Be it a coworking space or a rented office, there is no one in the office, at least until everything settles down or got better. Even if some companies chose to have their staff work-in, there are strict rules for everyone to distance themselves from one another, work place are required to have a disinfectant spray every day and worse, there might even be a limit on the maximum amount employees that can work in an office at set time.
On 22 September 2021 (Wednesday), Malaysia’s Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has announced that more businesses to open up or extend operations, as well as offices in Malaysia, can now operate at 100% capacity only if all employees are fully vaccinated.
Source: Human Resources Online
It is these trying times that one should help another. Are the official SOPs safe enough? Are there any further steps you can take to enhance the safety of workers? What should each of us do to reduce or even eliminate the COVID-19 spread in our workplace?
Below are some of the things we can do to play our part in this pandemic.
How to Staying Safe at work, especially Coworking Workplace
1. Understand what is provided at your workplace
As Malaysia’s SOP requirement, everyone who enters a building needs to have their contact registered through MySejatera or in written form, as well as have their body temperature checked. This is always the first layer to protect the workers as fever is one of the more obvious symptoms of a potential COVID-19 case.
Being in the workplace yourself, be sure to have you and the other workers to always stay clean and sanitized thoroughly. It is good to also make sure that your workplace is well sanitized daily, especially places that people always come into contact unknowingly everyday such as switches, door knobs and some shared office tools.
2. Avoid grouping up to and forth from your workspace
As research done by Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM), travelling with someone else other than those who lives with you could cause exposure to not only yourself, but to your loved ones. This is because you are putting yourself in a close proximity with people from other groups, hence exposing yourself to the potential risks if someone were to be a carrier. And that would then be brought back home by you.
However, if your only choice is to head on to work by a public transport, be sure to sanitize and do not simply touch any surfaces and have your hands come in contact with your face. It is also best to keep yourself well distanced from other people around you. That leads us to the next point perfectly!
3. Keeping social distance at work
Keeping a safe distance is no longer a joke, by practicing social distancing, you are playing your part in the safety of everyone around you. By staying a safe distance from others, you can reduce or eliminate the spread of COVID-19 at work. The safe distance is 2 meters from one another, and be sure to always be wearing a mask and best with a face shield too. The practice of social distancing not only makes you a more responsible human being, it also protects people around you. Making sure you adhere to the rules and let everyone around your workplace work in peace.
Another way to make sure social distancing is at place is to have shift in work place, by alternating batches of workers you reduce the amount of people exposed by keeping the similar group in play, as well as free up at least 50% of the space for better social distancing a workplace.
4. Keep purchasing to takeaway or online order
Lunch at work can be a thing to worry about every day, considering what to eat, where to eat is always some of the most fun times among colleagues. However, during pandemic like this, dining-in is extremely dangerous as it exposes yourself to more potential carriers, and again, you might bring harm to people around you.
How takeaway and delivery helps is that it reduces the people you come in contact with and the clustered people in a small, often enclosed area like restaurants or a cafe. A next step you could take is to visit places out of office at off-peak hour, this is also a way to reduce unnecessary cluster and contact with random people. If there is not a choice at hand, just make sure to leave a seat empty between everyone at least.
5. Stay alert when using an elevator
Elevator is a necessity in every high-rise building, be it office block or residential apartment. It is however, also an enclosed small area! Hence, elevator is a surprisingly dangerous place for all the COVID-19 viruses to get trapped in. Do not squeeze into an elevator with more than 5 people, and if required, the stairs are always available.
6. Keep your workspace clean and sanitized
Always remember that the cleanliness of your workplace does not only fall upon the owner or your employer. Everyone should have the conscious to keep the workplace sanitized and clean. Sanitize and clean your own desks, chairs and office tools to keep them virus-free. It is also a good idea to prepare some spare masks and sanitizers at your own office desks.
With numerous experiments done, even really popular videos on the internet, washing our hands is some of the best ways to keep yourself away from infections. Soaps are proven to be able to break down the COVID-19 virus, if there isn’t any soap around you, remember to use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to kill them off.
With the implemented SOP, there will always be hand sanitizer at the entrance to an office space, everyone should know to properly sanitize before entering the office. Having a good habit of sanitizing and keeping you and places around you clean can help everyone in fighting the pandemic!
7. Speak up
In a workplace, people aren’t supposed to know if you have a question or any problems. You will need to speak up to spark a conversation, or at least to let others know about your concerns. Communication is even more important in situation like these, if you are feeling unwell, or have grown concern to a certain practice in the office, speak up. Be polite and not to sound like you are confronting the superiors regarding the matters. If you can properly convey your thoughts, things can be solved. Everyone understands that this is not the best time to be stingy or inconsiderate, not when it potentially puts peoples’ lives at stake!
8. Be responsible, take the practice with you
With the above-mentioned steps and tips to staying much safer in this COVID-19 pandemic, these habits and actions are not limited to your workplace. Remember, with one more responsible person, there is one less chance to form a new cluster, and given the infectious nature of COVID-19, that alone can save hundreds of lives.
The pandemic has definitely changed our perspective in safety and daily habits. For better or worse, it has already changed even the way we think and act. Always remember, it only takes one to spread to hundreds, don’t be the one!
ThinkHub Coworking Space
Located in the city centre of Shah Alam, ThinkHub Coworking Space continuing to operate now, even during this pandemic. To keep our co-workers safe, the steps above are of course, well implemented in every corner of the space.
Besides ensuring the comfort and safety of each and everyone here, we are also always open for suggestion! As above mentioned, as long as something makes you feel concerned, just talk to us anytime. If there are any uncertainties, you may also reach us at +60 11 5866 9282 or hello@thinkhub.my.