The world is together in this one unique fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. However, no good news is coming from any corner of the world. The result: we continue to be home-bound. Companies have to manage operations remotely and work from home continues to be the only choice left.
Work from home is an altogether different scenario that doesn’t really coincide with the principles of 9-to-5. There are many changes in the way employees and employers engage. Furthermore, it is more challenging on the HR’s end of a company to manage employees and employment contracts in a situation like this.
As a result, many HR managers end up making amends that might not reflect well on the company’s behalf in the long term. We will try to address some of these mistakes followed by their rescue points.
Creating a new, pandemic-based employment contract
If you are thinking of drawing a new contract that addresses the current reality, you are wrong. Whenever it comes to revising policies, it should apply to all the employees.
Many workplaces have also received the green signal to open offices, but with a Covid-safe plan.
If you have one policy for one portion of your workforce that goes office and another policy for those who continue working from home, you will invite more chaos.
Therefore, leave the employment contract be.
Not being clear whether work from home is temporary or permanent
Under the current scenario, it is natural for an employee to assume that something like “remote working” can be permanent. One can assume what has been taken as an emergency measure will most probably be a permanent change in the status quo.
To clarify this air of misunderstanding, a company must notify all employees that the situation is specifically due to the pandemic. Also, clarify that everything will resume back to normal once the situation is resolved.
Not supplying the infrastructure
You might have heard on news about how big companies and brands transitioned from physical workstations to virtual. How IT departments worked on record times to make the switch smooth and efficient. This, however, was not the case with all.
A lot of companies required their employees to purchase working equipment on their own. Clearly, non-essential items like a desk, chair, paid online tools, etc., were not even considered.
As a responsible HR, you must understand these sorts of arrangements often lead to creating a terrible environment. For example, consider interfacing going wrong between your client and executive because the computer was not high-end.
The more you are inclined towards fulfilling the official needs of your employees, the better growth your company will yield.