How to Support Your Employees During the Pandemic

Whether your business is open full-time or you’re still trying to figure out how to reopen, the past few months have been challenging for you and your employees. Between the unprecedented struggle to run a business during a pandemic and your worries about staying healthy, you’re all stressed. While you need to make a profit to avoid bankruptcy, you also need to support and care for your employees. Use these tips to guide how you approach interactions with your workers throughout the rest of the pandemic.

Emphasize the Importance of Family

Your employees are probably not related to you, and even if they are, they have other family members that they worry about. It’s never been so important to find the right work-life balance as it is right now. Communicate to your employees that their families must come first, and be as flexible as possible if an employee needs to leave work to take care of a loved one.

Assume the Best

When people don’t respond to emails, are late to work, or forget about meetings, assume that they have good intentions. Perhaps they had a difficult evening yesterday, or maybe a family member is sick with COVID-19. Rather than becoming angry, reach out to your employees, ask if they are doing well, and remind them about their missed obligations. Of course, if someone has a pattern of not keeping up with his or her responsibilities, you may need to take disciplinary action. Still, your employees will work better and be much more loyal if you display understanding and patience in the midst of this crisis.

It’s hard to manage your desire to get your business’s profits back on track with your need to support your employees. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and know that if you put your employees first, they will make your efforts worthwhile.