GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Monday marks an important milestone for the state of Michigan. Businesses that have been grappling with the pandemic, for more than a year, are finally able to have their employees return to the office, or workplace, as the state lifts workplace restrictions.
"We know that different businesses will be on different schedules for how they come back to more in-person work. It's important that they have the opportunity to start that process. Many types of work lend themselves well to being done remotely, but there are some things that are lost, as well," says Brian Calley, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan.
"That teamwork, the camaraderie, the company culture, and bouncing ideas off each other and challenging each other; and, even the relationships that come out of the watercooler talk. I mean those pieces, those elements have been missing for a long time. And, I know there are many employees and many employers that are just really looking forward to the opportunity to get some element of that back."
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The ability to return to the workplace was reached earlier this month when the state reached the 55% vaccination threshold set in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's, "Vacc to Normal Plan." The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) said as of May 24, it would no longer require employers to create a policy prohibiting in-person work for employees, when that same work can be done remotely.
However, Calley says many businesses patiently waited for clear guidance on what that should look like, specifically. He says that is one reason many employers will, likely, proceed slowly.
"My experience, anecdotally at this point, is that businesses that have been remote for a long time, are going to slow-walk this return to the office. So, they're talking to employees and trying to get a sense of, and get a feeling for, what they think about coming back. Learn what types of safety protocols, the employees would like to see in the office, regardless of what the regulations and rules say," said Calley.
"I also think many organizations are trying to evaluate their positions to determine which ones need to come back to the office. Some will be hybrid and some will be back in the office, based on the nature of the positions. Some might go fully remote. I think all of those things are on the table; but, many businesses, especially those that have been mostly remote for the last year. I don't think that they're in a rush to get everybody back to the office."
Calley says businesses will need to make adjustments based on new safety orders imposed by the state, but says generally speaking businesses are very well prepared to manage and keep their employees and their customers safe. He believes businesses must figure out things like how and whether to enforce mask wearing, as well as determining which employees are vaccinated or not. All of that will take time and consideration.
"The arguments you see happening out there in society, between people that are pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine and for a lot of safety precautions and those who don't want to follow safe safety precautions, within practically every workforce you have that same dynamic playing out. And so, I think in the short term, most businesses will fall back on the MIOSHA Workplace Safety Rules," said Calley.
"That will leave some leeway and businesses will have to decide whether or not they want to take advantage of some of the loosening of the rules. Some businesses might say, 'you know I don't want to get into whether or not a person is vaccinated; therefore, everybody's going to continue wearing a mask while doing in-person work.
"In the meantime, there are other businesses, I think, will be ready to take full advantage of the new standards which say, if you're vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask and don't have to distance anymore, as the CDC said. So, I think we're gonna get a wide range of that; but, one thing that we ask is, for with consumers and employees and small business owners is good communication. I think that can really make a big difference here."
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