Different companies have taught how they treat their employees with Covid-19, where some have shown to set an ideal example in the face of the situation, while others are not so well received.
The arrival of the pandemic by the Covid-19 it was inevitable, forcing thousands of companies to carry out different initiatives to avoid illness in their employees as much as possible (some better than others). Among one of the most common actions that were seen, in addition to the health filters at the entrance of the companies and the temporary work suspensions, was offering the home office mode for workers for them to work from “the comfort of their homes”.
According to a survey conducted by Statistical where it shows employees working from home, nearly three-quarters of those interviewed online (72 percent) had the opportunity to work from home, while the remaining 27 percent found it necessary to continue attending offices .
Although this type of action was shown to be somewhat efficient in reducing the cases of Covid, the employees they were still exposed to contracting the disease (to a considerably lesser extent) when they went to pay their monthly services, go for their food, groceries and other essential items for day-to-day life in their homes.
Despite this, almost two years after its appearance, the pandemic is still in force, cases continue to increase and the arrival of new variants is notorious; however, with the passage of time, companies increasingly find themselves returning to their respective offices and different employees have exposed the actions that have carried out their work in the face of this new normality, where the cases by Covid-19 they are a constant reality (especially during these last weeks). Within these, some have managed to stand out above the rest due to effective human resource management, while some others have not yet fully adapted to the situation, or at least to the new demands of the employees.
The appearance of Covid-19 and its management by companies It has been of vital importance on the perception of the employees in their respective workplaces, where some have managed to improve their image and strengthen the labor relationship, while some others have not left a good impression on them at all.
Example of a good management of HR strategy This is shown by the testimony of Marco Antonio Ríos, an employee who has recently started working at OMG Peru, who is proud to belong to his company after it accompanied him during his illness when suffering from Covid-19, where the company chose to carry out some extra actions to those of the law, demonstrating its interest in giving a more “human” or “warm” follow-up, thus creating a greater labor bond between employee/company.
Among the main reasons why this OMG Peru worker put his company on a pedestal with a LinkedIn testimonial is the action of the company’s CEO, who decided to get more personally involved with the employee’s well-being and fulfill more beyond what the law establishes regarding accompaniment by Covid-19; Among one of the ways in which he achieved this, a letter written in his own hand by the leader, accompanied by some “gifts” to support his well-being, such as some handkerchiefs, face masks and teas.
The company seems to have fulfilled the expectations of this employee with Covid-19, who extolled the tHR work on this occasion, achieving positive comments in the publication where different users applaud the company for its initiative, in addition to mentioning that they would like to work in a similar place, but what happens with the rest of the companies?
Other brands have shown efficient work by having some employees infected, as was the case with Manzana, since according to some international media, at the end of last December the brand would have opted for temporarily close its physical stores when noticing a considerable increase in infections in its employees and, to prevent the number from growing, they chose to close operations, which despite being able to represent an economic risk in terms of their physical stores, they preferred to maintain a good image before their workers and the population in general, a fact that has not been carried out by all.
Earlier this year, international media reported that Walmart Inc. was cutting furloughs in half for those employees who tested positive for Covid-19, or for those who had to quarantine after exposure to the virus. , that is, they offered only one week with pay instead of two (compared to how it was at the beginning of the pandemic) due to issues of new protocols by the CDC in the United States, a fact that worried the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International and its President, Sara Nelson, who expressed her concern in a statement, since this type of situation could encourage workers to return to work before they are fully recovered, showing a somewhat hasty decision for those employees with Covid-19, since the need could force them to go to work earlier without being really healthy, registering a possible image damage in the face of the perception of their workers and the general public.
Companies are having a positive and negative impact on their image in the face of perspective of your employees due to decisions made in the face of positive cases of Covid-19. Taking into account the current context with the increase in cases and the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious infections, what would be the ideal decision to carry out in the HR area?