As states across the country announce their plans for reopening local economies, employers face one of their biggest challenges yet — how to overcome employee fears and concerns when bringing back workers who have either been working remotely or who were furloughed in response to COVID-19.
With a vaccine still at least months, if not a year, away, the threat to employees’ health remains. Employers will make any number of physical accommodations to open up work spaces, install added sanitizer stations, and post signage reminding employees to social distance and wash their hands regularly. Many will even implement thermal scanners at the main entrance. Yet, the challenge of restoring employee confidence so that employees can be productive mandates a much more thorough approach than simply making changes in the physical workplace.
