Last March California made a huge shift to having people predominantly working from home due to the initial rise of COVID-19. Since then, work from home has become the new normal for most, but what about for those whose jobs cannot be done at home. What kind of adjustments could possibly be made to allow people to work onsite while prioritizing their health?
K1 Packaging Group made finding the answer to this question a priority in November and found part of their answer through the idea of consistent weekly COVID-19 rapid testing. As the holidays approached, K1 owners felt it would be the best move to test employees weekly and, after seeing how effective this was, extended the testing through February.
The times employees are given to line up for testing are intentionally staggered to help minimize the amount of contact employees have with each other. Once they reach the front of the line, they hand over the weekly paperwork they are given and go up to one of two tables to get swabbed for their rapid test. These swabs are then sealed and taken inside to be tested by the Rapid COVID Labs technicians. If it is discovered that an employee has tested positive, they are notified in private by Human Resources and asked to go home to quarantine so that the virus can be contained. Then, in the result of a positive test, K1 sends mass alert messages via text to all employees in order to disclose a COVID case has been identified at the workplace.
While testing is a great way to monitor the health of our employees, it cannot be successful as a sole means of prevention. K1 understands this and values the health of our employees which is why other active steps are taken daily such as requiring employees to wear masks, supplying sanitation products at every workstation, making sure all employees are spread out, and even implementing plexiglass dividers between stations in breakrooms.
As COVID spikes continue to happen it is important for companies to stop and ask what their responsibility is, not just to their customers, but to their employees as well. K1 is proud to say they have considered their role and have taken the time to map out and implement their thoughtful response.
