What are you hearing from many colleagues, peers, neighbours and the community? I am sure it is almost similar. “Exhausted, overwhelmed, and anxious.” “I’m feeling fearful and fatigued.” “Frustrated and dismayed.” “The current workload is not sustainable.” Whether working from home or in office or laid off due to lack of work, the fear of Corona virus is palpable. Some are confused and some more scared of the uncertainty of the situation. There are many articles and advice from professionals on how to cope with the pandemic, how to work from home, how to reach out for the government subsidy. Everyone is supporting to provide their piece of information. What is baffling is that people are not validating correctness of the information available, reaching for authentic sources and following simple protocol of social distancing, washing hands, wiping surfaces in common use and staying home. Last Saturday, when the sun came out in full might, young and the old flocked on the White rock pier to soak in its beauty. None of them were aware how dangerous that was in helping to spread the virus. The other critical action is communication. Corona virus spread and affects needs to be addressed depending on how it is affecting the individual situation or the organization. The information from the government, the city, health organization and the Center for Disease Control needs to be evaluated in terms of the difference that it will make in the working condition or how it will affect the employees. Social Media does not have authentic information. This is the time to demonstrate leadership in guiding, directing actions, showing confidence and being resilient in this stressful environment. Employees are looking for role models to emulate. A majority of organizations have published actions taken to handle COVID 19. The biggest asset is having an open communication channel. Employees are desperate to find the right information, the right resource to seek answers, and funding avenues where employees have lost jobs or unable to work. Working from home is an option provided by majority of employers. The need of the hour is to remain flexible in letting employees choose how to manage their work and personal lives and when to return back to the office to resume normal working. There will be some successes and some failures as a large number will be attempting to be productive working from home. The leaders need to be supportive, understanding and providing transparent communication channels and updates to situation frequently. During these unprecedented times, it is prudent that the employee’s morale and spirits are kept high. An additional quality of urgent need is of patience, humbleness and calm. You may likely have unpleasant conversations with anyone; even your spouse, while shopping with another shopper, in the park, just anywhere. These are times of heightened tensions and distraught behaviours. It needs to be understood that people are worried and are reaching their threshold of patience and therefore breaking under stress. The mantra is to remain sane, humble and respectful. Lastly we need to be grateful to all the doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers, police and emergency support workers who are risking their lives in attending to the sick and the needy. They are working round the clock saving lives and to make sure that we have safe conditions. Thank you to all of them. Ajit Sinha CPHR SHRM-SCP
Published on 30 Mar 2020 on Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maybe-new-normal-working-covid-19-ajit-sinha-cphr-shrm-scp/
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