How have employers responded to the COVID-19 pandemic?
In addition to ensuring employees have the necessary equipment, access to information and cyber security to work from home, employers have been faced with a number of issues, including:
- Covering COVID testing or treatment
- Helping employees juggle work and family responsibilities
- Supporting employees when a colleague or family member dies of COVID
- Maintaining social connection among a remote workforce
- Mitigating feelings of isolation or anxiety among remote workers
- Extending paid time off for employees serving as caregivers to someone afflicted by COVID
Throughout the pandemic, most organizations have struggled to say when the workplace will return to business-as-usual. Many have tentatively set “return to work” dates, only to be forced to extend their work-from-home mandates due to the prevalence of the virus and lack of a viable vaccine.