Province open for business, but many offices in Sask. not ditching COVID-19 restrictions yet

Saskatchewan officially became a COVID-19-restriction-free zone as of Sunday, and offices are gradually welcoming back their staff.

But many workplaces are still taking safety precautions to minimize the spread of the coronavirus that cause COVID-19,even though public health orders requiring masking in indoor spaces and physicaldistancing have been lifted.

For office employees at Federated Cooperatives Limited, not much changed on Monday.

The Western Canadian co-op which has 2,300 employees in Saskatchewan, according to its website is keeping all COVID-19 restrictions in place and only slowly bringing people back in the office.

"People will still be wearing masks when they move, they'll be practising distancingand avoiding larger meetings," said Cam Zimmer, the co-op's communications director.

Restrictions won't be loosened until the fall, he said.Even in September and October, the workplace willallow employees to work fully remotely, entirely in the office or somewhere in between, depending on their situation, according to Zimmer.

Normally there are just over 800 people working in the office in the co-op's Saskatoon headquarters, but Zimmer says only a "select few" will be back this summer.

"We've checked in all along with our employees," he said, and they're glad to have"long-term timelines in terms of our plans so that it gives them time to readapt to a different way of working."

Real estate agency dropping all restrictions

Meanwhile, Colliers real estate agency says it's following the province's guidance, as it has throughoutthe pandemic, and is dropping all restrictions.

Still,Tom McClocklin, the agency's Saskatchewan president, recognizes the huge transition ahead.

"To be able to come back together closely, it's going to take some time to adjust," he said. "We want to make sure people feel comfortable."

He says workers should wear masks if they want to and that plastic shields around desks and public areas will still remain in place for a period of time.

Although restrictions around the office are loosened, the agency isn't asking its approximately 160 employees to return over the summer.

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About 30 employees have been going into the office or are providing maintenance services in various condo and apartment buildings, but the rest are still allowed to work from home.

McClocklin says more people will return in September and hopes to have a longer-term plan in the months after that.

Both Federated Cooperatives Limited and Colliers say they won't requireproof of vaccination for their employees but say they strongly encourage people to get their shots.

Potential risk of turnover: HR expert

Andrea Bartlett, director at the Ontario-based human resources softwareHumi, says providing flexibility toemployees is key.She notes that although workplaces were extremely quick in shifting to remote work, the transition back won't be as fast due to various factors.

"There's a lot of mixed feelings. I think people are excited to be socially connected. But I think that there's also a lot of anxiety around actually transitioning back to going into the office, the commute, what that means for child care," she said.

Ifemployers don't clearly communicate why it's necessary for workers to be back in the office,they risk a potential turnover, Bartlett says.

She says she has noticed a culture shift in employees being more open about asking for accommodations, and says many are seeing benefits of working from home.

"It's also very important that you're factoring in the employees' perspective," she said.

That means ensuring an open dialogue between employees, managers and the organization, "so that you can understand what teams are willing to move back into the office," Bartlett said.

Dr. Cory Neudorf, senior medical health officer at Saskatchewan Health Authority, says based on the experience of other countries that have reopened ahead of Canada, he's anticipatingCOVID-19 cases willbriefly go up.

"As we have people going out and mixing more in the community, we will start to see cases rise again," he said. "It's really then dependent on people's behaviour and immunization rates to determine whether those cases are going to continue going up or plateau at some level or keep going down."

Just over 50 per cent of eligible people in Saskatchewan are now fully vaccinated.Neudorfsays with more contagious coronavirus variants circulating, he wants to see 80 to 85 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.

He advises employees in workplaces with lower immunization rates to still wear masks and physically distance.

He also suggests that employers invest in improved ventilation systems, provide paid sick leave, and give workers time off toget vaccinated.

Take time to adjust mentally: counsellor

Macintyre McKay, an analytics advisor at a credit union in Regina, says he's excited to return to the office.

His employer is welcoming half their staff, about 100 people,on Monday.

"I lead a team. So I have to deal with lots of different people. And I find it's so much better and easier working with them when we're all in the same room, and you can look each other in the eyes and see some body language," he said.

McKay says his workplace is loosening restrictions and only requiring masks and distancing if people are in close proximity.

Some other employees in Saskatchewan, though, said on social mediathey'd rather not go back into an office.

Terri Peterson, the University of Saskatchewan Wellness Centre's counselling team leader, says people should acknowledge that returning to work can be mentally draining.

"We do actually tighten up, get some anxiety around anything noveland any change. That's how we kind of were made," Peterson said.

She sayspeople need totake the time to adjust mentally andemployers shouldaccommodatethat.

"Some of us have felt kind of underwhelmed and under stimulated and under socialized. Some of us, depending on our work, maybe feel overwhelmed and over socialized."

That's why she says it's important to remember that workers are making a big adjustment, and need to "[take]the time to kind of balance that out."

She suggests people practise self-care like exercising, going outdoors or having quiet time to ease the transition.