7 ways to support your employees during the raging pandemic
In many countries the effects of the Covid pandemic were not extreme. Unfortunately, India is not one of them, and the situation here is dire. The least we can do is reach out to those who would like to do something to ease their employees’ suffering. This is what we in Admitad Affiliate did to carry our workers throughout 2020-2021.
1. Staying Connected
Regular group calls, fun activities, sharing thoughts and experiences, welcoming new employees, podcasts and streams — anything is good to keep your team’s spirits up. It’s very easy to forget that you’re not alone when the world is falling apart around you. Social support helps to focus on what really matters — life.
For entertainment, every other week we held online games and quizzes with small prizes, and for awareness — an eco-week with a marathon of healthy habits.
2. Keeping a hand on the pulse
Are you afraid you won’t be able to recognize your fellow worker’s looming breakdown? Regular surveys will help you clear the fog and reveal how your team is feeling. This knowledge can save lives — or at least, will enlighten you how to ignite a spark of hope.
We have done a Pulse Survey every few months in order to sync with the team and presented the results to let people know that their voices have been heard.
3. Better Medical Insurance
Putting Covid on the list of diseases covered by medical insurance is another significant move to show your colleagues that you care and are ready to ensure their safety in case something goes wrong.
Aside from the Covid treatment, our insurance covers psychological counselling, as well as online medical consultations with doctors.
4. Psychological Assistance
The situation seems so grim that our minds are thrown off balance. Day by day many of us dwell in depression and anxiety, unable to process the negative emotions. This year, we lost a colleague to the virus and many of us lost their close ones too. Therefore, for the Indian office, we contacted Dr. Ashima Puri, with 27 years of experience in the field. A session with a psychologist was able to boost our staff’s morale.
5. Working From Home
To prevent the virus from spreading, it is wise to make all business processes go online. Admitad has been 100% WFH for all till December 2021. Surely, if anyone really wants to continue coming to the office, they may come. However, we prefer that our employees stay out of harm’s way and risk neither their own nor their relatives’ lives.
6. Sick Leaves for Family Care
One can never be ready for emergencies — say, your family member has gotten sick, and you have to care for them. It’s totally OK — we provided up to 15 Covid-induced leaves whenever people needed them. The employees kept getting their salary as usual.
7. Family Support Fund
Early in the pandemic, when the world was just starting to shift towards working from home, we observed a menacing trend — people getting fired or put on indefinite leave.
To cover up for our close ones who were laid off due to the viral outbreak, we set up a special support fund. Any employee whose family suffered the unemployment caused by Covid, can request a one-time payout of $1000. The results by now: the fund has been drained completely the first time it was introduced, but the second time around it still has plenty of money left. Feels like a significant improvement, doesn’t it?
Stay safe!
It’s been over a year since the first wave hit us off our feet, but counter-crisis measures have been pretty useful to help us stay positive. We wouldn’t dare to say it’s a cure-all for any business, or for any country, but for us in affiliate marketing the solutions seemed pretty robust. Hope we’ll be able to keep our positive attitude throughout the pandemic.
Best of luck, get vaccinated and stay safe!
