Mixed feelings among employees returning to work

Muscat: Locals and expats returning to their offices came back with mixed feelings, excited about meeting their coworkers once again, but cautious over the precautions they would need to take to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Although they had been working from home for the last few weeks, a decision issued last week by the Supreme Committee for dealing with COVID-19 meant 50 per cent of all employees in the country’s public and private sectors returned to their offices starting Sunday.
Ahmed Thuwaini Al Yaqoubi, the regional director of Al Rumouz National Company, which conducts the local operations of multinational company Veolia in the Buraimi and Dhahirah governorates, said he ensured his workers followed the hygiene practices laid down by the Ministry of Health.
“I am so happy to resume work with the other employees in the headquarters of the company,” he said. “We are following the decisions of the Supreme Committee and the Ministry of Health, by keeping social distance, wearing masks, sterilising our hands, and washing them with soap and water.”
He added: “We also ensure the workers follow these regulations. It is important that we follow these rules, and in doing so, become role models whose practices others can follow. Over the past few weeks, we were conducting field visits to monitor and control the procedures of transferring the waste containers we operate, to the landfills, having taken the correct health and safety measures for the workers.”
Meanwhile, Sayonto Gupta, a marketing manager in the country, said he was glad to be getting back to work, but was worried about how this would impact the COVID-19 spread in the country. However, employees at the company he works for, who live in the wilayats of Muscat and Muttrah are still allowed to work from home
“There were a few misunderstandings when we were all working from home, because of gaps in communication that happen when you telecommute, but all of these have now been ironed out now that we have returned to the office,” he explained. “It was a bit awkward for us to socialise this morning, because we had not met each other for the past two months, but by the afternoon, everything was okay again.”
“Obviously, returning to work is the right decision, because you can only stay at home for so long, but with a thousand cases reported on Sunday, I am worried about what impact this will have on the spread of COVID-19 in the country,” admitted Gupta. “Our office has taken many measures to ensure all of us maintain hygienic standards. Hand sanitisers are kept everywhere, all of us are wearing masks, and we all had our temperature checked before entering work in the morning.”
It was a similar sentiment for Panneer Selvam, the quality assurance manager at Oman Oasis. His team had been working during the lockdown as well, but hygiene measures had been ramped up now that more people were expected to come back to work.
“We work in the field of essential goods and services, so we were required to work while some of the other offices were closed,” he said. “However, we all took it in turns to come to the office so that everyone would remain safe. Fortunately there are good levels of awareness among our staff so they know the importance of maintaining good hygiene."
“Even when we come home, we make it a point to compulsorily take bath so that we are safe,” he added. “Our families are also aware of the risks posed by this disease, and so do not complain about the extra measures they have to take. We have a safety manager onsite who regulates the temperatures and health of all of our employees. Our temperatures are taken at the gate, and should he find that there is an elevated temperature, or an employee is displaying COVID-19 symptoms, we follow procedure and take him to a hospital for immediate testing.”