WORKING PARENTS!
September was back to school month but, as with everything in 2020, things are a bit different this year.
The end of the holidays usually means an easing of pressure on working parents, with less juggling of work and childcare. This year, though, things are more complicated. Although schools have reopened, some working parents will feel anxious about their children’s safety. These employees may struggle to focus and will need additional support and understanding.
Nothing is certain now: whole school year groups being sent home because of an outbreak is a possibility, a probability even. This means that working parents may be forced to resume childcare duties at short notice.
It is out of everyone’s hands so planning is a must if you want operations to run smoothly.
Build on any flexible working patterns you have introduced and be ready to have people working from home again – and not just the parents, as who knows what comes next!
As we saw when a Sky News reporter was forced to conduct biscuit negotiations with a young child live on air, interruptions by children are part and parcel of home working. A positive culture will help everyone deal with this. Better still, get the processes down in a working parent’s policy. This way everyone knows where they stand and have a framework to fall back on.
For help writing a working parent’s policy and other management techniques, do get in touch.
ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19?
In a survey of employees and business leaders across 11 nations, The Workforce Institute at UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group) found only a fraction of employees (20%) felt their Company met their needs during the initial months of the pandemic. But there is a silver lining, a third of employees globally (33%) say they trust their employer more now than before the pandemic began because of how organisations reacted.
In these uncertain times and as we enter a new period of increased restrictions, there are many employee expectations and concerns that business leaders must address to alleviate anxieties around the world of work.
Research found that, according to UK workers, less than half of UK Company were prepared to manage through the start of the pandemic (42%) and their Company made mistakes during the pandemic (44%). However, more than half (53%) of UK workers say their Company went above and beyond expectations during the pandemic.
Looking ahead, less than two thirds (57%) of UK workers believe their Company will be prepared to manage through another spike in cases of COVID-19.
What are you doing in your business to cope with another spike or lockdown?
CASE STUDY: MEDIATION
See how Heartbeat HR helped to reduce the number of employee disputes and protect working relationships >>
Read more case studies to see how we have helped businesses just like yours >>
SOCIALLY DISTANCED TEAM BUILDING
As your team continue to work from home, maintaining a sense of team spirit is more important than ever.
Just because your employees are spread out does not mean that you cannot take part in team building activities.
Team building can be essential for moral, happiness and productivity and there is no reason it must stop.
A quick review of Google will show that it is easy to turn the team in to crime scene investigators or codebreakers for an afternoon. You could even organize an escape room via Zoom. Whatever direction you choose to go, there are plenty of ways to bring your team together whilst keeping them apart.
I would certainly recommend that as a business you to not arrange any face to face gathering of individuals who have not been together for a while – stick to remote team building to keep everyone safe!
To find out how Heartbeat HR can help you navigate through the complex world of human resources, contact us today:
020 3389 5251 | info@heartbeat-hr.co.uk
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