Knowledge of the materials and effectiveness of masks for preventing new coronavirus infection in the workplace

 

State of emergency declared again in 11 prefectures

On January 13, Japanese government declared a state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Tochigi, and Fukuoka, following the three prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama.

According to the recommendations of the Subcommittee on Countermeasures for Infectious Diseases of the New Coronavirus on January 5, countermeasures are mainly focused on eating and drinking places, based on a paper published in the British scientific journal Nature, etc. However, it is also said that "there is a risk of rapid spread of infection nationwide," and it is necessary to implement thorough infection prevention measures widely.

What is the preventive effect of wearing a mask?

Hand disinfection, wearing masks, and ventilation are recommended as infection prevention measures, but the preventive effect of masks depends on the material used.

The results of an experiment published last October by the Toyohashi University of Technology show numerical changes when wearing a mask (non-woven fabric, cloth, or urethane), a face shield, and a mouth shield.

According to the results of the same experiment, the amounts of discharged droplets out of the body can be reduced to about 20% with non-woven fabric and cloth, but 50% with urethane and 90% with a mouth shield. As for the amounts of droplets inhaled, non-woven fabrics can reduce droplets to about 30%, while urethane can reduce droplets to 60-70%, and face shields and mouth shields have no effect on small droplets.

What is the relationship between vocalization and droplet volume?

In addition, in response to the problem of infections caused by Karaoke, eating, and drinking, experiments are being conducted to see how the expiratory flow rate changes when talking, shouting, singing, eating, and drinking.

　According to the results of the experiment, the amounts of large droplets increase about 10 times more in Karaoke and loud conversations than in normal conversations, and the momentum of the droplets increases about 1.5 to 2 times. In addition, the distance that the droplets can reach is increased by about 1.5 times, so it is necessary to keep a sufficient distance between people and to ventilate sufficiently because the number of small droplets is also doubled.

To prevent infection in the workplace

On January 8, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) asked labor-management organizations and economic organizations to cooperate in the active use of telework, prevention of infection in the workplace, and strengthening of health management. For the sake of your company's business continuity, please take proactive measures to prevent infection in the workplace.

More companies are using telephone answering service providers

 

The "telephone answering service" is attracting attention in the Corona disaster

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, many companies have introduced telework, but companies with few employees and departments that answer a lot of phone calls face the problem of having to come to work to answer the phones. In addition, answering the phone requires interruption of the original work, which reduces productivity.
To solve these problems, more and more companies are using "telephone answering services".

Features of Telephone Answering Service

A telephone answering service, also known as a secretarial service or telephone secretarial service, is a service in which an outside operator listens to incoming office calls on your behalf and takes them to the person in question. If the operator is unable to take the call, he or she will contact you by phone or email (the method of contact varies depending on the service company, but chat, line, etc. are also available). This also allows you to keep a record of the contents.

In addition, since operators who have received education and training in telephone answering are available, it can also improve the image of the company.

How do you choose the right service company for your needs?

Currently, there are many telephone answering service companies, and the services they can provide vary from company to company. For example, in the case of law profession offices and real estate companies, legal terms and industry knowledge are required, so there are services where operators specializing in the industry are available. There are also companies that can provide services outside of business hours, such as at night or on holidays.

There are also other services that provide mail order product explanations, take orders on behalf of customers, and even handle complaints.

Note that the cost of using a telephone answering service varies depending on the number of calls per month and the number of operators. When considering the use of this service, it is necessary to compare the content of the service, the quality of the operators, and the cost to find the service that best suits your needs.

Outing Privacy is a tort

 

◆What is outing?

Outing refers to the act of another person revealing a secret related to sexuality (such as being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or having gender identity disorder) to those around them without the consent of the person concerned. For example, if a person who has been told by the person in question that he or she likes him or her tells a third party that he or she is homosexual, or if a person who has been consulted by the person in question says that he or she is actually a former man (or woman), it is outing without the consent of the person in question.

◆If you do outing

In The person who has been outed will suffer deeply. If the outing is done in the workplace, it can lead to not only resignation but also mental illness such as depression, harassment trials, and in the worst-case scenario, even death. In fact, there have been trials on the issue of outing, and the high court ruled that outing is "a serious violation of personal rights and the right to privacy, and an unacceptable act" (Hitotsubashi University outing case). There was also a report that a company apologized to its employees and paid a settlement for the damage caused by outing.

◆Measures are the duty of employers

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Guidelines for the Prevention of Power Harassment also clearly states that outing, or revealing to other workers sensitive personal information such as a worker's sexual orientation, gender identity, medical history, fertility treatment, etc., without the consent of the worker in question, constitutes power harassment. In other words, employers are obliged to take measures to prevent such harassment. Specific preventive measures include clarification, dissemination, and enlightenment of policies in the workplace, development of a consultation system, prompt and appropriate response to problems when they occur, and development of a system to protect privacy. Respecting diversity and building an environment where employees can work with peace of mind will lead to the development of your company.