How To Support Your Employees During Unprecedented Times

For a lot of employees at the moment, a lot of their priorities and worries will be around their health, and the health of their loved ones. We are getting ever-changing information, as the situation is constantly changing, and the advice we are given changes. It can be an anxious time as an employee, wondering how you’ll get your job done, and even if you’ll have a job at the end of this, as well as for employers, holding similar concerns.

As an employer, there can be a lot of stress as you think about how you are going to work things now. Will there be enough custom to keep your business going? Not only that, but how can you make sure that your employees are taken care of? They will have a lot on their minds, and having extra stress from an employer is not where you will want to be. So here are some things that you can do to help your employees at the moment, as well as for reference in future unprecedented times.

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Virtual Doctors

One tool that can be used by employers for their teams, is to think about using virtual doctors for your staff. These aren’t new, but understandably, are growing more and more in popularity. Including them in an employee benefit package can be a good idea. Then they can speak to a doctor over the phone, or using a video call, to be able to get a prescription or a diagnosis, as required. Some Private Medical Insurance schemes may include something like this already, so that is worth looking into.

Liability Insurance

As a business, having insurance is something that is vital. But at a time like this, where you may have to make staff redundant, and may face other issues, it is going to be more important than ever to speak to insurance brokers. You wouldn’t want to get sued at a time like this, especially by employees for wrongful dismissal, for example. So having liability insurance is important. These times are unprecedented, so it helps to make sure that you are covered for anything that could happen.

Mental Health solutions

The mental health of our employees is important, as it can be a factor in determining to what extent our team will be able to work. This should be a normal concern. However, at times like this, when things are much more stressful and uncertain, compared to normal, this is a factor that should be of greater concern to you.

Some employees may have enjoyed the idea of working from home. But others, with children and other commitments, may have been finding the process stressful and difficult. The novelty could certainly be wearing off, especially if they are shielding or self-isolating and cannot go out and about as normal. By offering your employees some practical ways to help them to look after their mental health, it can be a huge benefit to them, as well as the business.

There are a number of online resources that you could work from, such as the resources from Mind. Not only that, if you are part of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), or make this available to your employees, then it is a good time to make the most of it, and remind employees about what is on offer with this service. One important point to note is that EAPs are sometimes included within other health policies or insurance, as an added extra, so you may already have access to one.

Open Communication

As a business and someone who hires people, it is important to remain committed to supporting our customers, but your team too. Without them, the business wouldn’t be able to grow and do all that it needs to. That is why having open and clear understanding with your staff at times like these is important. So keep communication open, and it can help you to all know where you are at. Catch up with your team as often as is possible, and keep updated. Honor certain holidays where they would normally have the day off, as well as any time that they have booked off. It helps them to be able to keep going, not burnout, and at the end of the day, be the best employees that they can be.

How has your business been impacted by the global pandemic? How are your team being impacted with working from home and modifying how they do things? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this matter.

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