Staying Strong during the Pandemic Pandemonium Part 1

World used to be a simple place. Kids go to school, adults go to work. Evenings and weekends families/friends gather and have fun at parties, picnics, parks, dates or play dates. People were encouraged to explore the great outdoors. Summer was around the corner and stores were getting filled with swimsuits, beach towels, sunscreen and barbeque grills. Gym membership was on all time high thanks to new year resolutions and the pressure to obtain the beach body. And then BAM……..Corona hit us like a Tsunami. All of a sudden, the swimsuits were replaced with hazmat suits, sunscreen with hand sanitizers and beach towels with disinfectant wipes. Forget about barbeque grills, toilet paper ruled the world. Spring clothing line had to be altered to add face masks and bandana. Schools closed, and employees are asked to work from home. Great outdoors are not so great anymore and staying indoors became the new adventure. 

All these sudden changes have come with a brand new set of challenges that no one could have prepared you for. As fellow HR professionals we are required to be more adept than ever. I wanted to understand more about how these changes have affected the HR industry and the best way to learn is from the experts. A big thank you to HR experts Kyra Matkovich, Anish Aravind & Jeff Palkowski for sharing their experience with me.

Here are some of the challenges faced by HR  during this tumultuous time :-

1. Engaging employees

“The worst thing you can do is nothing” - Theodore Roosevelt

Employees look up to HR for guidance and if there are any confusions, the 1st question would be “What does HR say?” This is not the time to be the deer in the headlight. HR has to pull all strings and collaborate to ensure business is running as usual. 

Jeff says “it has become increasingly difficult to meet the expectations of employees and managers because they expect the same high level high touch service which they are accustomed to”.

2. Compliance to Labor Laws

It is also imperative to keep the employees informed about the discussions, decisions and updates about their workplace and their jobs. Your associates will have a lot of questions about the compensation, leave policy, work from home policy, managing absenteeism, sick leaves, entitlements and other benefits. There are also lots of changes made to the rules and regulations. Hence it is important to keep yourself updated with the laws and practices. Here is a quick FAQ on Fair Labor Standards Act Compliance during the Corona pandemic written by Stephen Miller.

3. Communication

Clear communication is the key for surviving this chaotic situation. The most effective way to communicate and engage the employees is through their managers. With the absence of face to face meetings and daily catch ups, it becomes a challenge to make sure that leaders are well connected with their direct reportees. When there is chaos there is also confusion. Information reached through grapevine can be altered, speculated or it can be completely fake. The need for transparent communication is of paramount importance at this juncture.

4. Provide adequate resources

Another challenge faced by HR is in providing adequate resources and tools to employees. Many of the employees are not used to working from home on a continuous basis. Some may not have a home office or an ergonomic chair. Even the lack of high speed internet connection affects the quality of work. It is an additional challenge to manage kids especially when both parents have to work from home. Employees need help on various aspects like emotional support, counselling, insurance benefits, access to various office platforms, tips on working from home, exercise and staying fit etc.

Kyra says “I send regular communications via email to provide encouragement, support, and humor. I make sure that they know what resources are available”

5. We are also Human

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation”- Audre Lorde

Unwinding after a day’s work is very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It becomes a challenge to unplug when your home becomes your office. We all have our own way of relaxing after work like going to happy hour with colleagues, gym workouts, yoga class, sports or even just the commute back home helps to clear your mind. But how will you manage to unplug when you literally never leave office in this long term work from home situation?

Another important aspect of self care is exercise and fitness. With the restriction to go outside, you need to be creative to stay fit. It poses a whole new level of challenge when you have kids because you need to make sure that kids are also exercising their mind and body. 

Anish says “Keeping my boys fit and ready for their game as well as classes when they begin is a challenge. I have to figure out ways to get them to exercise at least 2 hours a day.”

The factors written here are just a glimpse of the ocean deep level of challenges HR folks are facing today. Keeping the ship afloat is the priority now and there is so much HR can do to support the business and the associates. More details of how HR can be supportive will be included in part two of this series.

I want to end this blog with one of my favorite quote from the TV show Grey’s Anatomy:-

“There's an end to every storm. Once all the trees have been uprooted. Once all the houses have been ripped apart. The wind will hush, the clouds will part, the rain will stop, the sky will clear in an instant. But only then, in those quiet moments after the storm, do we learn who was strong enough to survive it” 

A big thank you to the contributors to this blog post :

Anish Aravind : Co-Founder and Principal Consultant, SS Consulting; Co-Founder and Director at M/A/R/S Kerala. Follow on Anish on Twitter

Kyra Matkovich : Senior Human Resources Business Partner Specializing In Employee Relations, Leadership & Development. Follow Kyra on Twitter

Jeff Palkowski : Senior Human Resources Specialist, Workforce Relations at University of Wisconsin-Madison, SHRM Volunteer Leader. Follow Jeff on Twitter