BRYAN, Texas — As people come back to the office after working from home, the CDC is putting out a few guidelines for employers to keep in mind and keep their employees safe.
First, the CDC recommends making a COVID-19 workplace health and safety plan,
That can mean checking your building to see if its ready to be occupied again before welcoming employees back to the office.
It can also involve checking ventilation systems, increasing the flow of outdoor air and checking building hazards that can come with a prolonged shutdown.
You also need to find where and how employees might be exposed to COVID-19 at work, identify work and common areas where social distancing would be hard, separating employees where you can and making sure they all know what changes will be asked of them.
Those changes can be pointed out by employers with signs, tape marks and replacing communal items like coffee pots to prepackaged or single use items.
Wearing masks or cloth face coverings is recommended.
The CDC also suggests encouraging employees who have COVID-19 symptoms or who have a sick family member at home to let their supervisor know and stay home.
Employees can also be protected by staggering shifts and breaks, disinfecting frequently used surfaces and encouraging hand washing throughout the work day.
With all these changes, the CDC wants employers to educate their workers. They have free posters to print for the workplace online.
The CDC has a more comprehensive list on tips for office buildings and employers to open back up.