BOSTON (WHDH) – Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday urged employers to extend their work-from-home policies and reimagine what their workplaces will look like to prevent a second coronavirus outbreak as Massachusetts approaches the start of a four-phase reopening that could start as early as Monday.
RELATED: Walsh says Boston’s public health emergency will not be lifted in ‘near future’
“As we continue to plan for a phased reopening of the Massachusetts economy, we have been in constant communication with the private sector about how they best prepare their workforces for the next phases,” Baker said during a news conference at the State House. “An important part of this conversation has centered around continuing to give employees the ability to work remotely or work from home.”
Baker said the private sector has been “creative” and “flexible” in stepping up to allow their workforce the ability to work from and limit the possibility of spreading the coronavirus. He hopes other employers will follow suit in the weeks and months ahead.
“We are urging businesses to continue to promote remote work and work-from-home policies as much as possible,” Baker said. “We know there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this. Not everyone can work remotely and some employers will be required to have their employees physically report to a place of employment to fill a shift, operate a machine, or take care of customers.”
RELATED: 1 in 10 Bostonians have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, new study shows
Baker noted that he has been made aware of hundreds of companies and thousands of employees who have been successfully working remotely since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.
As Massachusetts transitions into reopening the economy, Baker said that working remotely will be critical to stopping the spread of coronavirus.
“Public health experts have made clear that large numbers of people in enclosed places is exactly how this virus spreads,” Baker said. “Distance at work will be a fundamental requirement for everybody. We all know that COVID-19 is highly contagious and spreads through droplets or can live on hard surfaces and can be transmitted if people are in close proximity.”
About half of the state’s executive branch workforce, including Baker and his administration, have been working remotely for weeks. Baker said he recently extended that work-from-home policy “for the foreseeable future.”
RELATED: Baker details plan to drastically expand coronavirus testing by end of 2020
Baker also announced a growing list of employers across the Commonwealth who are also committed to extending their work-from-home policies until further notice. The companies include Blue Cross Blue Shield, Raytheon, Mass Mutual, Takeda, and Wayfair, among many others.
Raytheon is allowing 100,000 employees to work from home or work remotely, according to Baker. Blue Cross Blue Shield has 98 percent of its workforce working from home.
“This not only helps them focus on protecting their employees who must work on-site, but it also results in fewer people being out in public, helping to minimize the spread of the virus,” Baker said.
Baker added, “The news rules for everybody associated with working in an office are going to require people to create distance. One way to create distance is not having the same number of people show up in the same office as you did before.”
RELATED: CVS opens 9 new COVID-19 testing sites; Wellesley opts out due to resident concerns
Baker encouraged employers to also think about allowing employees to work from home a few days a week by implementing a rotational process.
“It will make it much easier for them to create the distance they are required to pursue under the order that we are issuing on Monday to make it work for them and their workers,” Baker said.
Baker said earlier this week that “Phase 1” of the reopening will include industries that are “naturally set up” and have “limited face-to-face interactions.”
On Monday, the state’s Reopening Advisory Board is slated to present its plan on how to safely begin opening non-essential businesses.
In addition to the non-essential business closure order, the state’s stay-at-home advisory is also slated to expire on Monday, but Baker did not indicate if either will definitely be lifted.
Baker did note that the non-essential business closure order has been extended through Monday to allow the Reopening Advisory Board to reveal its plan.
Click here for more coronavirus coverage.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)