Case Study: The ABC's Dillema
With the unexpected twists and turns brought by the COVID-19 globally, most of the countries found themselves in the middle of the situation. Several companies and other entities struggle to keep their businesses alive and ABC company is one of them that is affected by this ambiguous situation. As the ABC company decided to close half of its establishment, there might some challenges that are inevitable. Here are some of the following:
Stability of Income. It is challenging how to normalize the income because there’s a possibility that it will fluctuate and became unstable which might result in the losses of the company. Given that the government implemented strict health and safety protocols to comply with, it expected that there will be fewer customers that will visit the shop thus, may result in an uncertain amount of income.
Increase in expenses. Employees at work are prone to the virus, thus, the company must ensure their health and safety and continuously prioritize providing protective health equipment. Therefore, the company is required to purchase PPEs and other safety kits for each employee.
On the other hand, during this transition, the workforce of the company is one of the most affected. Employees are obliged to conform to the following changes implemented by the company and the government. The following are the different challenges the employees might face during the pandemic:
Health Safety. Given the situation, it is uncertain for the employees to know whether their working environment is safe or not, and they were at risk of acquiring the virus. Thus, employees must continue to protect themselves and comply with protocols given by the government.
Transportation. Some public transports and vehicles are prohibited and thus, employees are having a hard time traveling from their home to the workplace or vice versa.
Hunger. It will be difficult to provide the needs of the family members especially when the price of the goods increased highly and the employee is the supporter or breadwinner of the family.
Security of employment. In the situation of the ABC company, there’s a possibility that they will lay off some workers to avoid losses in the company and to lessen the accumulated expenses.
Mental Health and Well-being. Stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues have always been there, and it is no new story. Some employees might have a hard time dealing with the overwhelming situation that is happening. As what is said life has been always difficult for some but it can become worse.
To address the challenges facing the organization and its workforce, here are some of the following process that is needed to do:
Despite the pandemic, the employer and employee relationship must remain intact and the key to this is through communication. If some employees have some concerns and problems, they can talk and have a conversation about it to resolve and find a suitable solution to the problem virtually or not.
To keep the employees motivated to work efficiently in the business, they may be given incentives for their performance. Monetary or non-monetary incentives may influence and inspire the employees to work harder to achieve the goals of the business. Non-Monetary such as a certificate of recognition or monetary incentives if the company has the ability to do so.
Provide training and development programs for the employees to help them feel valued and motivated in these trying times and seminars that can help for their competitive advantage.
To avoid unemployment, the business may change the working setup to a shifting format where there is no need to lay off some workers. Employees will be divide into morning and night shifts