Caring in Times of Crisis: Response of Indian Companies in the current pandemic.
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‘It’s not the changes that do you in, it’s the transitions. Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational: the new site, the new boss, the new team roles, the new policy. Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition is internal.’ Managing Transitions (2009), William Bridges
The world is transitioning through these tough times. World of work, more so! The COVID19 pandemic has impacted humans significantly in all walks of life. In these unprecedented times, barring a few businesses that have flourished, the world over economies have dwindled as the virus raged on. At the same time, during this pandemic, companies have come up with innovative methods to tide over the crisis. It exhibits resilience and also the will to stand by its employees during these tough times. In my view, each and every responsible employer has initiated steps to effectively counter the effect of the pandemic. On second thought, it makes good business sense too!
As work from home has become the norm for most companies many have provided financial support for their employees to set up suitable workplaces at home. Leave policies have been changed significantly to address issues like earned leaves lapses, the need for additional leaves, provide paid leave for their employees in quarantine, and leaves if family members test positive. Mental health and wellbeing (MHW) has taken center stage and companies have made significant investments in (MHW).
Keeping children and young adults engaged during this pandemic has been a challenge. Innovative measures have been implemented by companies to address this issue. Youth-focused entertainment hubs, extensive digital resource and entertainment hubs, educational content, virtual field trips, online storytelling. Many companies have provided e-learning tools to their employees. After all, how long will the people watch web series!
COVID Response teams have been set up by almost all businesses. This has greatly influenced and played a major role in keeping the employee morale high. A common factor of response teams has been dedicated telephone lines for voicing their concerns round the clock. The highlight of these response teams has been counseling the employees who were facing stress due to COVID. Companies have tied up with hospitals to ensure bed availability for their employees during the crisis. Companies have given a major thrust on vaccination and numerous vaccination camps have been organized for employees and their kin.
Various IT initiatives have been undertaken by the companies to facilitate working while ensuring adherence to COVID protocol. Most common amongst these are apps developed by companies to ensure social distancing by informing the presence of colleagues in a particular area at a particular time. Of course, some companies are using technology to monitor employee work too!
The pandemic has accelerated the process of digitalization in many companies. This includes foreseeing the need for enhancing remote work options, robust plans for fail-safe networking systems, and increased connectivity without compromising on security & morale-boosting measures have certainly helped productivity in many sectors.
As the world has witnessed the highest levels of productivity during this pandemic, with some reports of capacity utilization at the highest levels with marginal manpower, this way of working will become the new normal. World of work has adopted hybrid working and is here to stay. I hear of a leading MNC currently training its global leadership team on effective hybrid ways of working. Talent Sans Borders is not beyond imagination. Truly successful companies and individuals will be those who adapt and adopt. What are your thoughts on emerging trends? Leave your thoughts in the comments box.
