OTTAWA, Ontario – As Canadian provinces lift restrictions meant to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, employers are scrambling to prepare their workplaces for the safe return of their employees.

According to the recent “Return to Work Survey” by the Conference Board of Canada (CBC), only 8% of the 279 organizations participating said they are “fully prepared” to reopen their workplaces. In addition, 39% said they are “nearly prepared” and 48% are “somewhat prepared.” Six percent said they are “somewhat unprepared” but none claimed to be “completely unprepared.”

Among the preparations being taken, more than half of employers said they plan to screen employees with a questionnaire upon arrival and one in four will also conduct temperature screenings.

Some of the other workplace measures already in place or in the process of being implemented, include:

• Bringing employees back in phases, 71%;
• Restricting the number of people onsite, 64%;
• Controlling on-site movement, 61%;
• Alternating on-site schedules, 50%;
• Staggering breaks, 47%;
• Staggering shift times, 42%; and
• Job rotation, 26%.

Twenty-eight percent reported having a plan in place in the event there is a site outbreak or a second wave of the coronavirus. Another 62% said they were in the process of developing a plan.

The survey also revealed that far more employers are willing to let those who can work remotely since the pandemic than before. Here are the numbers, pre-pandemic versus post pandemic,