Employee Wellbeing at Workplace

The COVID Pandemic of 2020 calls for drastic changes, when it comes to employee well-being at the workplace. Security measures like biometric entry into the office and attendance are now touchless. Employee workplace has become intrinsically linked to employee health and well-being like never before. 

There is also a considerable scope emendation that comes into practice concerning the mental health of the employee as it is essential to mitigate workplace disruption during the COVID 19. The Human Resources function is in the frontline for preparing a blueprint of revised policies for the employee mental and physical well-being at the workplace.

Creating an Emergency Response Team

Similar to doctors, the Human Resource function is on the frontline when it comes to workplace well-being of the employees during the COVID 19 pandemic. In some organisations, the HR function works in close collaboration with the Safety function on this. Social Guidelines when it comes to staff meetings, gatherings, meeting clients in office premises, and also keeping the staff updated with the recent development and changes in the government laws or local COVID committee guidelines are all within the scope of the ERT. Creating a Team dedicated to COVID response makes things easier for the employees as they know well who is the ‘go-to’ person when in a dilemma.

Communication is the Key

It is essential to understand the employees physical and mental health requirements. Psychosocial support has attained a lot of significance in the new normal. Staff should be felt cared for and understood by their leaders, so they feel motivated to work. It is essential to practice empathy.

Communication about Hygiene and safety to the staff must be a priority. Following the safety guidelines is essential. It is mitigating employees concerns about the workplace environment by keeping them updated with the organisation’s workplace sanitisation methods and practices. It is also necessary to communicate with the Health insurance service provider about the updated health benefits, cascading it back to employees. Organising periodic virtual mental health programs that focus on meditation would benefit employees a lot. 

Creating Guidelines for Remotely Working Employees.

Social Distancing is the key to reduce the spread of the virus. Hence HR should make sure Information Technology is in place, allowing employees to be productive most of their work time while they remotely work without any interruption. Employees should be guided about the well-being, engagement, and also the boundaries when it comes to working remotely.

Virtual Team Performance Mapping

It is difficult for employees to gain motivation while working remotely during the time of crisis. Several instances build up potential reasons for an employee to feel confused and anxious. Employers must provide the staff with the right infrastructure to work from home. Organizations should enable employees to perform to the best of their abilities under current circumstances. Discarding performance evaluation method of ‘One size fits all’ is very critical in today’s context. Human Resources should create a  tailored approach and remodel the performance evaluation methods for remote working employees.

Digital Learning for Employees

Human Resources must not restrain on providing opportunities when it comes to upskill and cross skill teams even when they work remotely. Top-Down communication through emails and virtual meetings must be shared with the employees about potential opportunities within the organisation and encourage cross-training. 

Online learning is not only limited to inter-department training but also e-learning access. The potential investment in Online Learning Platforms is growing during the pandemic. Human Resources must identify possible EdTech Online Learning courses for employees. Promotion of digital learning will help quickly to acquire additional skills in no time. HR leaders should look at some encouragement tools for those who complete the courses on time with some reward points that could be redeemed for gifts etc later. 

Allowing employee ‘guilt-free’ sick leave and vacation

Working from home often confuses employee whether or not it is permissible to apply for sick leave. They are developing a sense of guilt to take rest while working from home. HR must create policies considering that every organisation is human-centric and that humans are the core of the business model.

It is essential to grant leave to employees who feel sick even while working from home. HR function should encourage people to report sickness, and they should never shy away from reporting and not to come to work if they are part of a Back To Work(BTW) Program. 

Human Resources must make sure that employees have ample opportunities to take ownership of their work and well being. As the new normal takes root with time, a workforce much more accountable and motivated will emerge from the crisis.