On the 19th of July, after 16 months, the British government lifted the majority of its pandemic restrictions in England. The removal of these restrictions included lifting limits on the number of people who could meet, as well as encouraging people who were working from home to return to the workplace. As a result of this, people up and down the country have begun to return to their place of the work for the first time in over a year.
However, employees have not rushed back to the office. According to The New York Times, as of 10am on the morning of Monday 19th July, travel on the London Underground was 38 percent of its normal demand. One reason for why members of staff may not be returning to the office immediately is due to health and safety concerns.
To ensure that employees feel as if they’re fully supported throughout their transition back to the workplace, there are a few key solutions that businesses can put in place in order to optimise office space and make life easier for members of staff.
Franking machines
Office workers may understandably still feel uncomfortable in and around crowds. By using franking machines, employees no longer have to go to the post office to get a traditional stamp for their letter or parcel. Instead, a franking machine can be used to print a barcode onto the item that you wish to deliver in place of a stamp. This means that members of staff can avoid long queues at post offices, which will ensure that employees are not put in an uncomfortable position, while also helping them to save a significant amount of time.
Automatic letter-openers
For many individuals returning to their office space, they’ll be faced with a large number of un-opened letters. To open all of these letters manually is a time-consuming and monotonous activity. In order to avoid this, businesses should consider using automatic letter-openers. These types of letter-openers enable employees to work their way quickly and efficiently through a backlog of mail.
Adding to this, when it comes to future incoming mail, these automatic machines will be able to distribute letters quickly throughout an organisation, processing hundreds of envelopes per minute. This also reduces the amount of people involved in the handling of mail, helping to make life easier and safer for employees.
Web Tracking System (WTS)
A return to the workplace inevitably means there will be a rise in parcel deliveries to the office, with many employees having personal deliveries to the workplace when in the office. In order to prevent parcels from piling up in post rooms and reception areas, as well as reducing mailroom crowding and queuing, organisations should consider installing Quadient’s Web Tracking System (WTS).
WTS tracks parcels and important mail items in real-time, from the moment they arrive on the premises through to the final handover to the intended recipient. This empowers businesses mailrooms to efficiently respond to parcel delivery enquiries, enabling organisations to control the amount of footfall going in and out of the mailroom.
Although employers cannot completely eradicate every single health and safety concern, implementing solutions such as franking machines, automatic letter-openers and WTS supports the wellbeing of employees, while also optimising the office space. This will give reassurance to both business and members of staff as they slowly begin returning to the workplace.