Office Building Employers Information for COVID-19
Office building employers, owners and managers can take proactive measures to create a safe and healthy workplace for employees, clients and other guests. This article shares COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on COVID-19 Employer Information for Office Buildings.
How Office Building EmployersCanProtect Employees
Employers should consider the following steps to protect their employees and other building visitors, while slowing the spread of COVID-19:
Check the building for hazards associated with prolonged facility shutdown, ensure ventilation systems operate properly and increase air circulation as much as possible.
Identify where and how workers might be exposed to COVID-19 at work.
Develop hazard controls using the hierarchy of controls. Consider using a combination of engineering and administrative controls, explained further below.
Engineering Controls
Engineering controls isolate people from hazards. Consider the following example controls:
Modify seats, furniture and workstations.
Use methods to physically separate employees in the building, including work areas and common areas.
Improve building ventilation based on local environmental conditions (e.g., temperature and humidity).
Administrative Controls
Administrative controls change the way people work. Consider the following example controls:
Encourage employees who have symptoms of COVID-19 to notify their supervisor and stay home.
Stagger shifts, start times and break times to reduce the number of employees in common areas.
Post signs in parking areas and entrances that ask guests and visitors to wear cloth face coverings.
Post instructions and reminders at entrances and in other strategic places about hand hygiene, COVID-19 symptoms, and cough and sneeze etiquette.
Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces.
Educate Employees
Employers should consider the following steps to educate employees and supervisors about how to protect themselves at work:
Develop communication and training that is easy to understand, in preferred languages spoken or read by the employees, and includes accurate and timely information. Suggested topics include signs and symptoms of infection, staying home when ill, social distancing, cloth face coverings, hand hygiene practices, and identifying and minimizing potential routes of transmission at work, at home and in the community.
Provide information and training on what actions employees should take when they are not feeling well (e.g., workplace leave policies, and local and state health department information).
Remind employees and clients that the CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are hard to maintain. However, wearing a cloth face covering does not replace the need to practice social distancing.
The CDC has posters available for employers to download and print, some of which are translated into different languages.
Develop Special Considerations for Elevators and Escalators
Employers should implement special considerations if their building has elevators or escalators. Consider the following proactive measures:
Encourage occupants to take stairs when possible, especially when elevator lobbies are crowded or when only going a few flights.
Designate certain stairwells or sides of stairwells as “up” and “down” to better promote social distancing.
Use floor markings in elevator lobbies and near escalator entrances to reinforce social distancing. Place decals inside the elevator to identify where passengers should stand if needed.
Use stanchions in lobbies to mark pathways to help people travel in one direction and stay 6 feet apart.
Consider limiting the number of people in an elevator and leaving steps empty between passengers on escalators.
Post signs reminding occupants to minimize surface touching. They should use an object (such as a pen cap) or their knuckle to push elevator buttons.
Consider adding supplemental air ventilation or local air treatment devices infrequently used elevator cars.
For More Information
Read the CDC’s Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers for additional recommendations for creating new sick leave policies, and cleaning and developing employee communications to help protect employees and other building guests.
Contact us today for more COVID-19 guidance and resources to protect employees.
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California Employers received some potentially GOOD news from a California Federal Judge with respects to Liability arising out of a COVID-19 workers comp claim.
During the last week of February 2021; a California Federal Judge dismissed a claim made by a spouse of an employee who allegedly contracted COVID-19 while on the job. The plaintiff alleged that she contracted COVID-19 from her husband who had contracted the virus while at work.
The dismissal was given with leave to amend the claim, so the Plaintiff may elect to revise and refile their claim; but as of now this is a positive indication as to how California courts may elect to view and decide on future claims.
A summary of the complaint and the situation may be found from The National Law Review at the following link:
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system that provides medical expenses and lost-income replacement for employees who sustain injuries or illnesses that arise out of and in the course and scope of their employment.
Each state has its own workers’ compensation law that governs the process of determining whether an injury or illness is work related and therefore compensable. Under California’s workers’ compensation law, employees typically have the burden of proving that any claimed condition is work related.
On May 6, 2020, however, California’s governor issued Executive Order N-62-20 to reverse that burden for employees who were diagnosed with or tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after working at their places of employment between (and including) March 19 and July 5, 2020. On Sept. 17, 2020, the state enacted SB1159 to add the provisions of that order to the state’ workers’ compensation law and to extend the presumption that COVID-19 is work related to certain employees through Jan. 1, 2023.
New Presumptions Under SB1159
SB1159 creates a new presumption that COVID-19 is compensable for the following types of workers, if they test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after working at a place of employment (not including their own homes), at an employers’ direction, on or after July 6, 2020:
Active firefighting members (including volunteers) of various, local, state and federal fire departments;
Peace officers who primarily engage in active law enforcement activities;
Fire and rescue services coordinators who work for the Office of Emergency Services;
Health facility workers who provide direct patient care to or come into contact with COVID-19 patients;
Certain registered nurses, emergency medical technicians and emergency medical technician-paramedics;
Workers who provide direct patient care for a home health agency; and
Workers who provide in-home supportive services outside their own homes.
In addition, SB1159 extends the presumption to any employee who tests positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after working at a place of employment, at an employers’ direction, on or after July 6, 2020, if:
The employer has five or more employees; and
The employee tests positive during an outbreak at the employee’s specific place of employment.
For this purpose, an “outbreak” exists when:
Four employees at a specific workplace test positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period, if the employer has 100 employees or fewer at that workplace;
Four percent of the employees who reported to a specific workplace test positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period, if the employer has more than 100 employees at that workplace; or
A specific workplace is ordered to close by a local or state public health authority due to COVID-19-related risk.
A specific workplace means the building, facility, store, field or other location where an employee performs work at the employer’s direction. It does not include an employee’s home, unless the employee provides home health care services to another individual there.
Disputing COVID-19 Workers Comp Claims
When an employee is presumed to have a compensable claim for COVID-19, the employer may present evidence to rebut the presumption. Types of evidence that may help prove that an employee did not contract COVID-19 on the job include, for example, any measures the employer has in place to reduce potential transmission in the employee’s workplace and any nonoccupational risks of COVID-19 infection the employee may have.
An employer that wishes to dispute an employee’s presumptively compensable claim for COVID-19 must formally reject liability within either 30 days (for claims that do not depend on the existence of an outbreak for the presumption) or 45 days (for claims associated with an outbreak). Otherwise, the employer will be barred from using any already-discovered evidence to dispute the claim.
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Traditional physical therapy is being challenged by an aging population, an aging working population, on-demand expectations of consumers, and patient accessibility issues. The good news is technology is making PT much easier to deliver and tailor to the changing preferences of patients. But with that technology comes different risks that you’ll need to consider as you accommodate your clientele. What you need to know about physical therapy going high-tech during the pandemic.
Heightened awareness of the dangers of pain medications, especially opioids, and the expansion of many health insurance programs to include physical therapy as a covered treatment for chronic pain could increase business at your PT practice. As welcome as a growing clientele is, it comes with new demands for nontraditional treatment methods, including telemedicine, virtual reality therapies and in-home care. Some practices are using a combination of all three!
Depending on the technology you choose, you may need to reassess your professional liability, workers’ compensation insurance and commercial auto insurance policies as well as your overall employee training and safety measures. Let’s look at a few of the tech-enabled therapy options and their associated risks.
Telemedicine and Physical Therapy
Telehealth — medical service provided by telephone — isn’t generally reimbursable for physical therapists under Medicare and Medicaid, so providers must be very careful about furnishing telemedicine to patients covered under those programs.
For patients in group health plans or other commercial insurance, payment varies as do permissible treatments and locations of treatment, so check with the payer before initiating services, according to the American Physical Therapy Association.
That said, school districts have, since the shutdown due to COVID-19, been looking for ways to provide special education students with occupational and physical therapy remotely. Other institutions have sought similar remote access to services.
In April 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily changed rules governing home health agencies’ use of telehealth, allowing for expanded use of and reimbursement for telephonic physical therapy. But you must verify that these regulatory waivers are still in place and that your particular services and patients qualify.
Those physical therapists working via telephone should do a full assessment of the professional services liability exposures they may have, such as misdiagnosis, accessibility issues for those with hearing or speech problems, and verification of a patient’s comprehension of the therapist’s instructions.
Your practice should also work with your insurance professional to ensure your professional liability insurance covers telehealth. Additionally, it’s possible your practice will need to develop liability and informed consent clauses or forms for your clients to sign.
Virtual Reality Therapies
Physical therapists often spend a substantial amount of time coaching patients past mental and emotional barriers that block initiation of or progress in recovery. Virtual reality tools can help them overcome those obstacles by immediately engaging them in a gamified world that eliminates the distractions and fears of interpersonal relationship building and trust.
For example, patients who enter therapy believing they can’t perform certain daily tasks, like making a bed or buying groceries, are frequently willing to try these activities in virtual reality (VR) mode much sooner than in the real world. Through VR, they find — in the privacy of their home or therapist’s office — that they can accomplish movement or endeavors they thought were not possible.
Important to note are the risks that can be involved in VR and gaming. A neurological assessment and coordination with other caregivers can provide crucial contraindications or impediments that should be considered.
Online Consultations
More online physical therapists are cropping up each week. They use videoconferencing, online coaching, apps that track recovery, and emailed exercises. The typical program begins with a clinical assessment (some done online), followed by a classification or diagnosis, a treatment plan, and some sort of monitoring and follow-through to gauge progress or completion of the regimen.
If equipment is needed, the therapist provides the prescription and resources, most of which can be ordered online. It’s important to check with the patient’s insurer to ascertain requirements for payment, because many mandate some in-person contact between the patient and the clinician, even if treatment will be delivered online. And, as always, the therapist’s insurance contract must be reviewed to assure that the firm’s professional liability coverage applies to online services.
A cyber risk insurance policy that includes business income loss will also be important for therapists working online. Breach of patient data and a shutdown of provider computer networks can generate expensive claims.
In-home Care for Physical Therapy Going High-tech
While CMS rules limit payment for in-home physical therapy to patients meeting very specific criteria, many insurers are more liberal. It may even be possible to conduct therapy in a person’s office or other institutional setting. And, of course, many senior-living residences and nursing homes routinely contract with physical therapists for on-site visits.
Whenever your employees conduct out-of-office treatment, you must be aware of the potential risks that differ from those for in-office care. Injury to and illness of your therapists caused by animals, obstacles and other humans are a specific safety concern that should be discussed with your workers’ compensation insurance professional. Special training may be required to avoid harm. If any employees begin crossing state lines to serve a patient, that will require an adjustment to your workers comp policy.
You’ll also bear greater responsibility for employee travel, even if they use their own vehicle. A commercial auto policy can be written to cover both company cars and the use of private automobiles, so be sure your insurance doesn’t have gaps for what are termed “non-owned vehicles.”
And since therapists will likely carry company equipment with them when visiting patients, you should consider an inland marine insurance policy so gear that is stolen, damaged or lost in transit has coverage.
Other Tech Aids for Physical Therapy Going High-tech
Remember that technology in your office supports your mobility and accessibility. That includes computer systems that store and crunch data as well as communications networks, video recorders, and virtual reality goggles and implements.
Your business continuity and disaster response plans should reflect your technological capabilities and loss exposures. With all systems and protections in place, your therapists should be able to reach an ever-wider clientele — safely for all.
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OSHA Mitigation and Prevention Guidance for COVID-19
On Jan. 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. The guidance applies to employers and employees in settings outside of the health care industry, and is meant to help them determine appropriate COVID-19 control measures for the workplace. Employers can use this OSHA guidance to plan and evaluate their COVID-19 prevention and mitigation procedures. With this guidance, OSHA strongly recommends that employers implement COVID-19 prevention programs. According to OSHA, the most effective programs engage employees and their union or representatives in the development and planning stages.
COVID-19 Prevention Program
OSHA asserts that the most effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at work is for employers to implement a workplace prevention program. For this reason, OSHA recommends that employers appoint a workplace coordinator to manage the employer’s COVID-19 response efforts. OSHA’s guidance outlines the following key elements for an effective COVID-19 prevention program and should contain the requirements below.
Hazard Assessments
Employers should complete thorough hazard assessments to identify potential COVID-19 workplace hazards. Employee participation in these assessments will increase the efficiency of this process because employees are the most familiar with the conditions they face. Once hazards are identified, employers should follow the principles of the hierarchy of controls to limit the spread of COVID-19 and implement other safety measures. Acceptable control measures include eliminating the hazard, engineering controls, workplace administrative policies and using personal protective equipment (PPE). Key examples include:
Separating and sending home infected or suspected infected employees from the workplace
Practicing physical distancing in all communal work areas
Installing barriers in areas where physical distancing is not applicable
Requiring the use of face coverings
Improving ventilation, hygiene and sanitation
Policies and Practices
OSHA guidance states that employers must ensure that their employees understand their right to a safe and healthy work environment. Employers should consider the following issues as they develop and implement workplace policies, practices and procedures:
Protecting employees at higher risk: Employers should implement protections for employees who are at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. For example, employees with disabilities may be legally entitled to “reasonable accommodations” that protect them from the risk of contracting COVID-19. In addition, employers should consider reasonable job modifications for employees identified as high-risk, including remote work or working in a less densely occupied, better-ventilated facility.
Communicating effectively with employees: Efficient employer-employee communication systems should be able to track which employees have been informed (and when they were informed) of COVID-19 facts and employer policies, procedures and practices. Employer communications to employees should address:
Basic COVID-19 facts, including how it is spread and the importance of social distancing, use of face coverings and hand hygiene;
A description of workplace policies and procedures implemented to protect employees from COVID-19 hazards; and
The procedure employees must follow and the contact information for the person to address questions or concerns about workplace safety and health issues.
Facilitating employee reporting: Employees should be able to report to their employer, without fear of retaliation, any COVID-19 symptoms, possible exposures or hazards in the workplace. Employers must communicate all policies and procedures implemented for responding to sick and exposed employees in the workplace to employees in a language all employees understand. A best practice is to create and test two-way communication
systems that employees can use to self-report if they are sick or have been exposed and that employers can use to notify employees of exposures and closures.
Training managers and supervisors: Supervisors must be familiar with workplace flexibilities and other human resource policies and procedures.
Isolation or Separation
Employers must instruct employees who have a confirmed case of COVID-19 to stay home, and isolate or quarantine. Similarly, employers should immediately separate employees who appear to have symptoms upon arrival to work or who develop symptoms during their work shift, from other employees, customers and visitors. Employers should also consider sending these employees home and encourage them to seek medical attention.
Employees’ isolation should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) isolation and return-to-work guidelines. Please note that some employees may need to stay home and isolate longer than 10 days as recommended by their health care providers.
To the extent possible, employers should make telework or the ability to work in an area isolated from others, available to these employees. If telework or separation options are not possible, employers should allow these employees to use paid sick leave, if available, or consider implementing paid leave policies to reduce the drive for sick employees to report to work, thus lowering the risk of infection for everyone at the workplace. To assist with this decision, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides certain employers 100% reimbursement through tax credits if they provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19 through March 31, 2021.
Sanitation
An area may only be used again once it has been appropriately disinfected. Employers should not allow employees to share objects or tools. However, if sharing is unavoidable, employers should make sure shared equipment, objects and surfaces are cleaned and disinfected between uses. Employers should provide disposable disinfecting supplies so that employees can clean and disinfect commonly used surfaces before each use.
Employers should follow the CDC’s cleaning and disinfection recommendations if someone has been in the facility and is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19. When cleaning and disinfecting the workplace, employers should consider opening outside doors and windows, as well as blocking off and sanitizing all potentially infected and immediate work areas and equipment. Additional cleaning and disinfection is not necessary if seven or more days have passed since an infected person visited or used the facility. Employees without close contact with a potentially infected person can return to the area immediately after disinfection.
Screening and Testing
Employers should follow state or local guidance and priorities for screening and vital testing at the workplace. Testing in the workplace may be arranged through a company’s occupational health provider or in consultation with the local or state health department.
Employers must inform employees of employer testing requirements and the availability of testing options (if any). The CDC has published strategies for consideration when incorporating viral COVID-19 testing into workplace preparedness, response and control plans.
Please note that screening and performing health checks is not a replacement for other protective measures, such as requiring face coverings and enforcing physical distancing. Asymptomatic individuals or individuals with mild non-specific symptoms may not realize they are infected, and some infections may not be detected during screenings.
Physical Distancing
Employers must implement physical distancing measures in all communal work areas. Physical distancing prevents workers from breathing in airborne particles produced by infected individuals when they stay at least 6 feet away. Employers can strengthen physical distancing measures by reducing the number of people or the density of employees at the workplace. To reduce workplace employee density, employers can implement flexible worksites, work hours, meetings and travel times, or allow employees to work remotely when possible.
In places where physical distancing cannot be practiced, employers should install transparent shields or other solid barriers to separate employees from others. Barriers must block face-to-face pathways between individuals in order to prevent direct transmission of respiratory droplets. When barrier openings are necessary, they should be as small as possible.
Face Coverings
Employers must provide all employees with face coverings. Face coverings must be made of at least two layers of tightly woven breathable fabric, such as cotton, and should not have exhalation valves or vents. However, when an employee’s job tasks require a respirator, employers must follow OSHA’s requirements for respiratory protection.
All individuals must be required to wear a face covering, except for:
Individuals under the age of 2; or
Individuals actively consuming food or beverages on-site.
Hygiene Practices
Employers must promote personal health monitoring and good personal hygiene, including hand-washing and respiratory etiquette. To accomplish this, employers should provide employees with time to wash their hands often or to use hand sanitizer. Posters should be prominently displayed in workplace areas to encourage good hand hygiene and physical distancing.
In addition, employers should ensure that employees, customers and visitors have adequate supplies to frequently clean their hands and cover their coughs and sneezes. Necessary supplies may include, but are not limited to:
Tissues and no-touch trash cans
Soap and warm water at fixed worksites and, if not available, alcohol-based hand sanitizer that’s at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol
Touchless hand sanitizer stations in multiple locations
Ventilation
The CDC has released guidance on ways to improve ventilation and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in buildings. Some of the CDC’s recommendations are based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Guidance for Building Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some of these recommendations include:
Increasing ventilation rates when possible;
Increasing fresh outdoor air by opening windows and doors;
Using fans to increase effectiveness of open windows;
Checking filters to ensure they are within service life and appropriately installed; and
Considering the use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation as a supplement to help inactivate SARS-CoV-2, especially if options for increasing room ventilation are limited.
Personal Protective Equipment
When the measures above cannot be implemented or do not protect employees fully, OSHA standards require employers to provide PPE to supplement other engineering or administrative controls.
Employers must determine what PPE is necessary (e.g., respirator, face shield, protective gowns and gloves). When PPE is required, employers must:
Provide necessary PPE at no cost to their employees
Make sure that all PPE is used and provided in accordance with applicable OSHA standards and other industry-specific guidance.
There are times when PPE is not required under OSHA standards or other industry-specific guidance. However, some employees may still have a legal right to PPE as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition, some employees may also want to use PPE if they are concerned about their personal safety.
Recording and Reporting COVID-19
Employers are responsible for recording work-related cases of COVID-19 illness on their OSHA 300 log if the case:
Employers must report a fatality to OSHA if the fatality occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident. For COVID-19 cases, an incident means an exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. In order for a case of COVID-19 to be reportable, a fatality due to COVID-19 must occur within 30 days of a work-related exposure. The employer must report the fatality within eight hours of knowing both that the employee has died and that the cause of death was a work-related case of COVID-19.
Employers must also report inpatient hospitalizations to OSHA if the hospitalization occurs within 24 hours of the work-related incident. For COVID-19 cases, an incident means an exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. An inpatient hospitalization due to COVID-19 must occur within 24 hours of a work-related exposure. The employer must report such hospitalization within 24 hours of knowing both that the employee has been hospitalized within 24 hours of a work-related incident and that the cause of the inpatient hospitalization was a work-related case of COVID-19.
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As one of the fastest-growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more. The GDI team has developed an “insurance cost reduction” quoting plan, that provides you with the best coverage at the best rate!
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Establishing Company Culture in the Remote Workplace
Many organizations take pride in their company culture—often, it can be a core competency and a competitive advantage. As employers expand remote work opportunities to more employees than ever before, organizations may want to consider how their culture can stay intact through an increased virtual workspace. What you need to know about company culture in the remote workplace.
What Is Company Culture?
Company culture is the personality and environment of an organization. Defined by more than just a mission statement or organizational values, company culture encompasses the unwritten norms of how individuals act with one another. While poor company cultures can be detrimental, a strong company culture and positive employee morale can positively impact recruitment efforts, retention and the bottom line of an organization.
The Society for Human Resource Management breaks down company culture into three broad categories:
Social—How individuals act, and how authority and influence exist between different roles and teams
Material—How people in a group make or achieve something, and the ways people work with and collaborate with one another
Ideological—How values, beliefs and ideals establish how individuals exist and interact
Company culture has long been associated with the way interactions take place. In the absence of face-to-face conversations, that same company culture translates through interactions taking place via communication channels such as email, phone, video, instant messaging, employee intranets and more. As utilization of remote work expands, employers may want to consider how their culture is translating into the virtual workplace.
A Strong Company Culture in the Remote Workplace
Company culture should align with the mission statement and values of an organization—this will vary from workplace to workplace. According to Glassdoor, positive company cultures have common themes that matter in today’s economy. These include:
Agility
Collaboration
Customer focus
Diversity
Execution
Innovation
Integrity
Performance
Respect
Many organizations take pride in their company culture, and expanded remote work doesn’t mean that culture can’t exist in the remote workspace—but employers will want to consider planning ahead.
Company Culture in the Remote Workplace
Effectively expanding company culture into the remote workplace is about more than just creating policies and adjusting business practices—the actions and behaviors of employees will continue to define a culture, just as in any work location.
Within the remote workplace, there are ways that employers can help expand positive attributes of a culture to those engaging in remote work. Options for employers to consider include encouraging behaviors, implementing practices and rethinking employee engagement, while keeping the following tips in mind:
Focus on the why—An organization’s mission statement, purpose and objectives can be a source of meaning for many employees. Ensure that these goals remain at the forefront of communications.
Prioritize collaboration—As in any workplace, employees are engaged when they are collaborating and feel as if they are part of a greater cause. While employees will be spending a significant amount of time alone, be intentional about facilitating collaboration with projects, goals and objectives.
Rethink communications—Company culture lives through the actions of employees and how individuals communicate with each other. While word-of-mouth can no longer be the primary medium for engagement, be strategic about how different communication channels are used, such as employee intranets, social networking tools and video.
Create opportunities for social engagement—When employees are able to engage with each other virtually, it can help build camaraderie. Many effective video platforms exist, and non-work conversations can help build team chemistry and facilitate an environment for positive interactions to take place in a remote environment.
Encouraging Behaviors
While employers can implement policies and document expectations, it will be the choice of employees to buy in. Encouraging positive behaviors will take more than just policies or guidelines—actions can have an immense impact. Leaders often have significant influence—and when management is living out expected behaviors each and every day, employees will feel comfortable reciprocating.
Facilitating a Strong Culture in the Remote Workplace
While company culture will be defined by the way in which individuals interact, organizations can take steps to help facilitate an environment where a positive company culture can be established in the remote workplace.
Every organization is different and has a unique culture. Create practices and encourage behaviors that best work for your organization and are accommodating to remote and non-remote employees alike. Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. for additional resources regarding best practices for utilizing the remote workplace.
California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management
As one of the fastest-growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more. The GDI team has developed an “insurance cost reduction” quoting plan, that provides you with the best coverage at the best rate!
We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business.
Time theft in the workplace is a common and expensive problem across industries. And, if not addressed, it can cost employers time, money and customers. In fact, the American Payroll Association found that 75% of businesses in the United States are affected by time theft every year. Another study estimates that time theft costs U.S. employers more than $400 billion per year in lost productivity. When employees are working remotely, it’s harder to detect and prevent all types of fraud. This article explores the risk of remote work time theft and explains how to prevent time or schedule abuse among remote employees.
What Is Remote Work Time Theft?
Time theft is when an employee accepts pay from their employer for work that they have not actually done, or for time they have not actually put into their work. Simply put, it’s an employee using company time to conduct personal business.
The honor system is used by many remote employees for meeting or logging their work hours. While most employees are honest, some might be tempted to take advantage of the reduced oversight while working from home.
A variety of behaviors qualify as time theft. For example, an employee may log in to work but watch TV, read a book or do household chores instead. They may also run errands during work hours without making up the time, take frequent breaks, or simply log more hours than they actually spent working.
Signs of Remote Work Time Theft
There are many ways that employees may get paid for work they didn’t do, so it’s important for employers and managers to be aware of warning signs. Every situation will be different based on the employee and type of work, but here are some examples of red flags to watch for:
An employee is often not responding to emails, chats or calls during regular business hours for long stretches.
An employee is often not available or late for calls or videoconference meetings.
An employee is late with work assignments.
An employee is going out of town without seeking prior approval.
Keep in mind how responsive employees are not just to coworkers and managers, but to customers, if applicable. It’s important for employers to keep the lines of communication open with all stakeholders—inside and outside of the organization—to keep a pulse on overall employee responsiveness.
Prevention Strategies
Time theft leads to lower productivity, which in turn leads to financial losses for the organization. Fortunately, there are steps that organizations can take to mitigate the risk of workplace time theft. Consider the following strategies:
Establish rules and expectations—It’s critical to address time theft in company policies and clearly define behaviors and consequences. It’s best to measure performance on benchmarks, so ensure policies clarify what conduct is not acceptable. Policies should also address workweek hours and availability. If employees have access to confidential or sensitive information, consider outlining approved remote working locations. Remote employees should sign telecommuting guidelines and expectations as well. If those policies don’t exist, then it’s important to put employee guidelines in writing.
Check in regularly—Managers should regularly check in with remote employees, asking what they’re working on and how they’re feeling. If there are already standing meetings on the calendar, managers should stick to them and use them as additional ways to check on how employees are doing.
Keep employees engaged—Support employees through both challenges and successes. It’s important to reward a job well done and recognize employees publicly. That’ll serve as a friendly reminder to all employees that their performance matters and makes a difference to the organization. When employees feel appreciated, they are often more motivated and committed to working hard.
Provide productivity resources—Employers should consider offering virtual time-management training or workshops, or simply ask employees to informally share their favorite productivity hacks with coworkers.
Use tracking software, as needed—Depending on the nature of work, it might be appropriate to use time-tracking or monitoring software to keep tabs on employees. As a last resort, GPS location tracking and IP address recognition are tools to help hold employees accountable if serious issues have been detected.
If employees are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers should continue to be adaptable and consider offering flexible work hours so remote employees don’t feel the need to commit time theft if they have other commitments—such as caregiving or virtual learning—during traditional work hours. A productive workplace is all about employees and managers having open and honest conversations about the workday, since it may differ among employees, situations or days.
For More Information
Time theft is a nearly silent form of fraud that can happen to any organization. It’s important for employers to be aware of how it happens and take the necessary steps to prevent it, especially with remote workers. A combination of clear guidelines, tools and employee support can help companies lower their risk of time theft. Trust employees to do the right thing and keep them engaged to reduce the company’s overall risk.
Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. for additional resources to support and manage a remote workforce.
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