Welcome back - Indonesia, Mongolia return to office

Our teams in Indonesia and Mongolia are finally returning to the office as COVID-19 restrictions ease. 

Employee vaccination rates in both countries are at more than 90 per cent, enabling both offices to begin welcoming employees to return to the office in a staged way.  

To ensure everyone safe everyday and maintain social distancing, employees (of whom more than 90 per cent are vaccinated) are divided into two teams with time rostered for working in the office and from home. 

This hybrid approach is giving our people the chance to ease back into office life after almost a year of working from home. 

Strict COVID-19 controls remain in place including:

- Hygiene requirements – hand washing and face masks
- Social distancing 
- COVID-19 testing before entering the office along with temperature checks and online check-ins on arrival. 

Mongolia HSE Manager, Brad Bennett, said returning to the office has been a positive experience for many employees. 

“It’s been great to see our employees back in the office, many have benefited from socialising and interacting face-to-face with colleagues,”  

“Safely bringing our teams back to the office and adapting to ‘post-COVID normal’ has been our goal since the start of lockdown. Throughout the pandemic, we have prioritised the health and safety of our employees and office visitors by complying with the Mongolian Government’s COVID guidelines and will continue to do so as circumstances shift.” said Brad.  

In Indonesia, COVID-19 education and communication has been stepped up to ensure full understanding and adherence to government protocols. Mental health has also been a key area of support to help the team adjust. 

Pandemic recovery 

Business Continuity Manager in Indonesia, Brett McGuire, said returning to the office is an important step in recovering from the pandemic. 

“We have all done brilliantly working from home during the pandemic but returning to the office is an important step in reconnecting with each other post pandemic,” Brett said. 

“We understand there are mixed emotions about returning to the office, so we encourage employees to speak up about their thoughts and experiences so we can improve and navigate our new normal together as a team.” 

Jakarta Office Manager, Taxi Septiana Putri, said the pandemic has shifted the way we work. 

“The challenge of maintaining a balance between work and personal life has never been more apparent. Many of our employees are enjoying the benefits of a flexible work schedule and have been more productive,” Taxi said.  

“Understandably, there is anxiety about returning to the office, however, our Thiess team is doing everything they can to ensure the transition as smooth as possible.”