We think it works really well in the home office. Personally, I've been able to work in a focused and productive manner during the weeks. I've been back in the office for three weeks now and usually have the many rooms to myself. We've received feedback from the drivers that they can imagine a 60/40 or 80/20 model – i.e., three to four days in the office and the rest in the home office. Our colleague Tanja has always worked from home in Dresden. So why not let other employees work from home too? What's the downside? Nothing! Coordination is done even more by video call than by phone. Stable and fast internet connections seem to be more important. Organization and structure are very important.
If your employees are slowly planning to return to the office, structural and organizational changes may be necessary. We have a few ideas and tips for necessary precautions to provide the best possible protection against infection in the long term:
- Maintain a distance of at least 1.50 m between workstations – workplace regulations in Germany already provide a good guideline, with many offices already meeting most of the requirements
- Avoid multiple occupancy of rooms or ensure sufficient protective distances
- Have employees work in shifts or teams at staggered times or alternate between working from home and the office – refrain from non-territorial working and desk sharing in the coming weeks
- Equip conference rooms with workstations – these are not currently needed for external appointments
- Side partitions between workstations and passageways and traffic routes can also help.
- Have your service providers thoroughly clean the rooms; they will be happy to have the work.
- Are the drinks still usable (milk, etc.) and are the beverage crates refilled?
- Inform the post office that you are back and can accept packages.
- Reset telephones, etc.
- Still valid:
- Coughing and sneezing etiquette (into the crook of your arm)
- Regular and thorough hand washing
- Regular cleaning and disinfection of shared surfaces and personal workstations
- Paperless working wherever possible (documents can be passed between several people)
- Regular ventilation
- You can find a great example of how to welcome your employees back at Porsche on LinkedIn.
By the way, remember data protection in the home office and also for those returning to work and their PCs, which they will reconnect to the company network! Your data protection officers will certainly already have recommendations for action.
Give your employees time and space to decide when they want to come into the office. Some will come on their own, while others will need a gentle reminder that there is still a workplace available for them in the office.
