You always cared for the employees when they were in office. You put amazing efforts and wellness plans when they were in office. Now the circumstances have changed with the pandemics. The repercussions of the pandemics will be positive
I recently came across a post on social media where the employee mentioned, he is going to ask his next employer about what measures they took for the employees during the pandemics. The statement makes a lot of sense as the desperate times call for desperate measures is not true, rather desperate times call for calm leadership efforts for the people.
“Corproate Wellness” is the term restricted to the workplace wellness for the many years till last week. Now in the era of “Work From Home” the definition of “Corporate Wellness” should be looked in new lights.
Initiatives from the employers / Leaders’ side during current situation of “Work From Home”:
· Be more empathetic
· Trust, as when you trust you get it in return.
· Avoid confrontations / humiliations / reprimanding in bad words. Firstly, you should respect your team and secondly you do not know who else in the family is listening the call.
· Avoid speaking in louder voice during the audio / video conferencing call, rather be polite and respectful
· Avoid direct discussions over deaths by the pandemics.
· Avoid discussing any information that is not coming from right source about the pandemics.
· Arrange a video call with a well-informed doctor to create right awareness and to bust the myths about the disease.
· In all your call with employee either audio or video, apply following tips:
o Practice Empathy
o Cheer up and begin the call.
o Maintain smile on the face and in your voice.
o Ask Q1 - How is your health? If you know any particular health issue then check about that.
o Ask Q2 - How are people in your family? Ask by name if you know them. If you do not then know them now.
o Have words or two with the family members, parents, spouse and kids
o Ask Q3 – How are the people in the building? Locality? Request to stay away from the outsiders.
o Request the employee to be at home and not travel out of home
o Ask Q4 - Check with the employee about how the day was at home. Share how you are spending your days.
o Request the employee to take care of health and fitness of body and mind both.
o Share optimistic views on the pandemics and emphasize on staying at home
· Follow the basics of effective communications during such times.
· Give all essential tools then prepare effective plan and then discuss the execution time frame. The employee is at home but that does not mean he has all the time available in the world. Simply ask yourself if you do?
· Ask the team to follow precautions about diet and fitness
· When the movement is restricted and diet is not, the health issues start surfacing or resurfacing. Keep a video conferencing with a well-informed dietitian to give knowledge and diet plans to the employees during such times.
· Since the mobility is restricted due to stay at home, keep video conferencing with fitness trainers to provide Online Yoga, Online Functional Fitness sessions etc.
· Do not be your regular self or try to squeeze maximum from the employees.
· Be optimistic and spread optimistic thoughts down the line to your employees
· Do not pressurize the employees to achieve targets during these times
· All surrounding of the employee can be very pessimistic, hence please understand the stress levels of the employee. Please assure the employee that world is not going to end so soon.
· Arrange a video call with a superior psychotherapist to build self-esteem during such times.
· Restrict the flow of critical information, which can create panic in the middle or lower level managers.
· Celebrate the birthdays of the month, look for small achievements to be celebrated.
· Keep entertaining yet fitness sessions like Online Zumba, Online Laughter Yoga for the employees.
· Keep fixed timings to the video/audio conferencing calls; avoid any recurring/unplanned discussions at any cost.
· Educate the team to be empathetic about other business partners and end customers during these times.
· Understand the financial impact of lock down and pay money in advance to the employees
Initiatives required from the employees’ side during current situation of “Work From Home”:
· Be empathetic towards your employer / organization
· Maintain trust and do not even think about any dubious ways during such times. You can fool others but not to your own soul.
· Stay at home. Under no circumstances get out of the home. Not even for the money.
· Be alert and attentive during the call. Do not miss the calls.
· Avoid any kind of procrastination. Do not be your regular self.
· Be respectful to your employer and other colleagues. Remember that your family, spouse, kids are listening to your call.
· Introduce your family, home to your team.
· Be optimistic about the situation.
· Avoid discussing negative issues about the pandemics. Discuss the positives.
· Do not share or believe any unsolicited / unsupported information as 99% it will turn out to be a rumor.
· Work From Home is a blessing in disguise:
o Read more books
o Build your knowledge.
o Complete your hobby.
o Work on the purpose of your life.
o Spend time with the family, spouse, kids
o Reunite with old friends over a video call
o Learn the art of home gardening, origami, singing, playing antakshari, snake and ladder
o Build your immunity through fitness and diet
o Learn yoga, Zumba through online trainers
o Take online diet plans. Remember 70% is about diet and 30% about exercise.
· Do not forget the important lesson taught by this pandemics besides the importance of hygiene, ie. “Give time to your family”
· As the mobility is affected, you need to be extra careful about your diet and workouts.
· Build your immunity. Take an online trainer to know about Diet and Fitness. Try online Yoga, Zumba classes, Diet Sessions.
FittQ’s take on Corporate Wellness during the times of pandemics and “Work From Home”:
· The pandemics situation first brings a huge unnecessary yet important ‘fear’. Unnecessary because it can make you worried and pessimistic and important because it can get you into action. We request the employers and the employees to get in action and fight the pandemics on both mind and body level.
· At FittQ we understand the importance of this fear and hence have devised great programmes for the corporates and individuals.
· We provide doctor on conference-call who provide right and up to date information about the Pandemics and help bust myths around it.
· We provide following other superb online programmes which can provide great wellness to the employess working from home:
o Psychotherapist on Video call talking about how to improve mindfulness during the times of pandemics. As the pandemics is affecting more on the mind than the body.
o Online Yoga / Online Kids Yoga / Online Elderly Yoga
o Online Zumba
o Online Functional Fitness
o Online Laughter Yoga
o Online Diet Plan and what to eat to build immunity session
o Other many Online programmes to build body and mind during the stay at home time.
· These are the few of the initiatives that FittQ is taking currently we want more suggestions from you either as employer or as employee.
Please feel free to contact FittQ on +91 9892866356 or Email: contact@fittq.com
Please share your views.
-Apurva Naik, Founder and CEO, FittQ.com