Businesses need to navigate the ‘endemic’ to avoid another great resignation.

You’ve probably heard of the new buzzword “endemic”, with all covid regulations, including the requirement to isolate after testing positive, soon to be abolished (Gallagher, 2022; Walker et al, 2022). With much debate on whether this is a smart idea or not, the finer details of how this impacts businesses and employees is yet to be announced and has caused much conversation over the past week in our office. 

There will be a lot of people returning to their office commute, and even more so for those without implementation of inclusive hybrid working practises. On the 20th of Jan 2022, Transport for London said 1.09m entry and exit “taps” with contactless cards or Oyster were recorded up to 10am on Thursday on the tube – about 80,000 more than the previous Thursday’s morning peak (Topham, 2022). Even before employees have reached the office, their wellbeing has already taken a knock, with burnout more likely, and inevitably, quite a few becoming ill. 

Most significantly, it is doubtful all employees will have the same beliefs on covid. Many are ready to move on and get back to normal, whereas many are still conscious, nervous, and still clinically vulnerable. Both views, and all in between, are valid. But enabling employees with dominant views to overpower the office will leave some feeling unsafe and untrusting of their colleagues. The last thing an office needs when trying to encourage employees back into the office, is a divided, toxic workplace.

Businesses will have to navigate themselves by creating their own risk assessments and policies (Slater, 2022), to keep employees aligned, and attract and retain their best talent. Avoiding this and letting the situation play out by itself, has a high risk of unhappy employees looking at the door – sparking The Great Resignation take two.

The big question: Should employees go into the office when unwell with Covid or other illnesses? We spoke with Workplace Strategist, Deborah Wilder, on how to navigate this tense situation appropriately:

“It should be all about respect and consideration for others.  I don’t think it should be that different from pre-Covid, i.e. if you had a streaming cold then best not to come to the office and share it.  The difference now is that pretty much everyone can work from home, so best to do the decent thing and not come to a shared workplace.  So, there shouldn’t necessarily be as much of a need for an employee to still go to the office if they have strong cold symptoms.

I suggest perhaps that businesses need to revisit their sickness policies, and maybe do some sort of consultative process – a workshop, employee survey, and agree an approach.  Agree some guidelines: when to come in, when not to come in etc.  Include etiquette to remind people about the do’s and don’ts, hygiene, distance etc.”

As always, talking with your employees and getting an understanding of how they feel, is the best course of action to retain and attract the best talent and keep your business future fit.  We help employers through our hybrid working audit, where we help assess what employees want, what employers are providing, and a review of workspaces to see if they are ready for a covid safe return. Get in touch at hello@workwellpcs.co.uk and join our mailing list.

References: 

Gallagher, J. (2022) Endemic Covid: Is the pandemic entering its endgame? BBC News [online]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59970281

Slater, J. (2022) Can I be forced back in if I test positive for Covid after self-isolation rules end? Metro [online]. Available from: https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/14/covid-self-isolation-can-my-work-force-me-in-if-i-test-positive-16096906/

Topham, G. (2022) Tube journeys up 8% after work-from-home Covid guidance ends. The Guardian [online]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/20/tube-journeys-up-work-from-home-covid-guidance-ends

Walker, P., Stewart, H., Sample, I., and Weale, S. (2022) Boris Johnson plans to end England’s Covid rules a month early. The Guardian [online]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/09/boris-johnson-says-he-plans-to-lift-all-englands-covid-rules-a-month-early