Many workers will be ar least somewhat fearful returning to the office after working remotely for an extended period of time due to the lockdowns. While the law, that’s still in the works, will surely require employers to take specific steps to create a safe work environment, it will not be fesable to eliminate all risks of infection and transmission when large groups of people return to work into the same office space and will start interacting with each other in person more and more.
Some workers have already started to take the position of telling their employer “if you want me to return to work, you have to put in place every single safety measure that I want you to”. This increases the the likehood of a conflict and even termination of that employee that, at least as of the date of this posting, would not be unlawful.
Workers are encouraged to consider taking a more measured and flexible approach to returnig to work post Covid shutdowns, recognizing that just like in many other situations, there are competiting interests at play, and safety must be balanced with the practical realities of working in a typical office environment. Balancing those interests will be required in order in order for us to go back to some semblancy of old normal.
Thus, when discussing with your employer your return work, you should take into account the challenges that they are facing, such as the expense of making a workplace more Covid proof, while maintaining work efficiency. No one can tell you which measures are sufficient to make you feel safe, as that of course depends on your health condition and your personality, but the “either give me everything I want, or I am not going back” approach is not the way to have a productive discussion with the employer. Often, there will be no perfect solution, i.e. a perfectly 100% safe wrokplace with 100% efficiency. Thus, the best results at creating a safe workplace without disrupting operations more than necessary can be achieved when both sides are willing to discuss what will work for both, the employer and the employees, be at least somewhat flexible and not twist each other’s arm.