Despite the vaccination campaigns, COVID-19 pandemic situation continues to rock the workplaces with no end in sight. Business owners and employers constantly struggle with a range of challenges, including keeping their employees engaged and employed. The nosratilaw.com emphasises the need to uphold employee rights in this difficult time.

If you are curious about addressing your employees’ concerns properly, follow the tips given below. You will see a remarkable improvement in productivity and employee enthusiasm.

1.      Allow sick employees to take paid time off

There is a worrying lack of paid sick leave in most industries. This prompts the employees to continue coming in for work despite their compromised health. Research suggests that the cities that mandate paid sick leave have lesser chances of a contagious disease spreading.

Not many employers foster a pro-health attitude. They fail to realise that easing off on the employees and giving more incentives increases productivity, not reduce it. It is time to leave the commonly practised ‘tough it out’ culture promoted by employers for sick employees.

2.      Embrace the Seven C’s of Effective Communication

         I.            Remain Calm. Your employees look towards you as a leader. Do not disappoint them by panicking.

       II.            Project Confidence. Your employees must believe you can see the company through this challenging time.

     III.            Engage in Communication. Remain connected to your employees and timely address all their concerns.

    IV.            Collaborate. Assign a role to all your employees. Foster collective problem-solving culture.

      V.            Promote Community. Encourage community-friendly behaviour.

    VI.            Show Compassion. Forgive minor errors and be flexible enough to adapt.

   VII.            Conserve Cash. Make sure to pay your employees on time, even if the banks are not open.

3.      Allow Opportunities for Small talk

When you work from home, the casual interaction between employees is the first thing to go. There is no more water-cooler talk. Such lack of communication promotes an impersonal culture, which is terrible for productivity. Small talk has shown to be an essential factor in promoting happiness among the employees. Therefore, you should establish opportunities for employees to keep up the occasional bantering with fellow coworkers.

4.      Accommodate High-Risk Employees

Do what is right, not what is easy. Assess all your employees to identify high-risk individuals and take steps to shield them while continuing the work, such as;

·         Extend the invitation to them to work from home on a full-time basis.

·         Provide protective equipment, like gloves, masks, sanitisers, etc.

·         Alter work schedules to ensure minimal contact between employees.

Maintain open dialogues with all employees. Assure them that their problem is your problem, and you will offer help in any way you can.

5.      Learn What Other Employers are Doing

Specific tactics to deal with particular employee concerns vary from company to company. However, they do share some common underlying principles that you can follow;

·         Do not act on outdated information. Adapt with the changing time and emerging knowledge.

·         Offer incentives to employees to increase work engagement and productivity.

·         Let the employees know you value their input and hard work.

·         Increase communication to prevent misunderstanding.

·         Foster tolerance and discourage bullying.