The Human Impact of Furlough

The Covid-19 crisis has taken us all by surprise. Our priority will be enabling people to stay healthy, however the psychological impact the pandemic has had on people should not be  underestimated. It is no longer business as usual with 9.1 million jobs furloughed. What is the human impact on our people and our businesses?  The Delvers recently partnered with Farleys Solicitors to bring to you some food for thought on bringing your people back into work.

Organisations are facing many new legal situations with increased flexible working requests, changes to contracts and the conflict that arises from juggling work and family commitments and as we continue through the pandemic, potential pay issues and redundancies.

It’s messy and uncomfortable but those who have been treated well by their employers during this period and have maintained a sense of connection with their organisation will be more engaged  and ready to come back with renewed motivation and purpose. Sadly, the risk for employers of having handled the situation poorly is that once the economy feels more secure, they will be likely to look elsewhere.

What does being treated well look like? How do we keep that sense of connection when there is so much uncertainty? How do we reset our culture, so we start as we mean to go on?

Let’s start by exploring the various world views of our employees. Those who have continued to work may be busier than ever and have the perspective that furloughed people are receiving pay for having fun in the garden, rollerblading down the street, smiling and happy in the sunshine, like the stars in a fizzy drink advert.Whereas in reality, by now, any novelty has worn off and they are more likely to be questioning their own worth, wondering if they will have a job to go back to.

The novelty of those working from home may also be starting to wear thin as people continue to struggle with doing their job as productively as before but with cats sat on their heads and children asking them maths questions. It is a struggle for all for many different types of reasons, but we are all in this together and there are some basic things you can do to keep that connection and  prepare people for whatever changes might lie ahead.

There are two major considerations; people staying safe at work and factors affecting team dynamics and culture.

People staying safe at work

There is intense pressure, particularly on small businesses to get back up and running but it cannot be at the expense of safety. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development have published some guidance on how to assess whether to bring people back into the workplace:

• Is it sufficiently safe? Take your time with staggered returns – test out your risk assessment. Is social distancing achievable?
• Have you talked to people? It’s vital that there is a clear dialogue so concerns, such as commuting by public transport, can be raised and individuals needs taken into account. Flexibility will be needed with potentially staggered start times or continued home working as people may still have children at home with no access to childcare.
• Communicate the practical measures you are taking to staff on a regular basis to help reassure them that their health, well-being and safety is your top priority. Make sure people are clear about procedures they should follow both in the workplace and at home, including what to do if they become unwell. Consider reviewing your policies around absence and homeworking to ensure you have a clear idea of how things will be managed in future.
• How will you manage meetings and other interactions? What about communal areas such as kitchens or staff rooms? Even if staff have carried on working and participating in video  meetings, they will still need to adjust to working in a shared environment with colleagues. Are meetings even the answer? Face to face meetings were bad enough but with zoom fatigue being a thing are we simply trying to recreate what wasn’t working in the first place? Do you need to change how your annual appraisals and performance reviews work?
• Re-orientate people – Encourage and support every manager to have one to one return meetings with everyone, with a focus on wellbeing. This is especially important for those who have been furloughed and should cover things like changes in company procedures or ways of working. People may have genuine anxiety about returning. Where people have severe anxiety or other conditions which can cause issues with returning, are you able to consider reasonable adjustments?
• Further flexible working? – Now many employees have had the ability to work flexibly, it may be employers will face more formal flexible working requests once employees are asked to return to their workplaces on a more permanent basis. It’s worth making sure you know how the formal request procedure works and on what basis such requests can be refused.

Team Dynamics and Culture

Checking in with people working from home or on furlough is key. Compassionate, values based, and inclusive leadership are all terms we will be familiar with but there has never been a more important time to ensure we are leading with these attributes at the very forefront of our minds. Asking ‘how are you?’ is not an effective question as all it usually results in is an ‘I’m fine’ answer. We need to be authentic and transparent when checking in. Authenticity helps to build meaningful relationships and trust, and one of the wonderful things to have emerged from the pandemic is how human everyone appears in their virtual space, so we need to build on this:

• Don’t just talk work: team quizzes, non-work coffee chats, bring your dog to Zoom day are all ways you connect with your fellow humans. Remember this is two-way and not just about where the organisation is up to.
• Involve people: Include them in your thinking and talk trough possible future scenarios that might play out in the future. Ask them what their hopes and fears are. Consider consulting with  employees on any policy changes which would affect the majority of staff.
• Encourage people to learn something new: This could a new skill or hobby or it could be learning something about themselves. Completing a Gallup StrengthsFinder might remind them of the contribution they can make when they return.
• Individualise the contact: Just like when you are in the office, you need to bear in mind that there are introverts and extroverts, differences and diversity of preferences so ensure you individualise contact according to the person you are dealing with. Some people didn’t want to socialise while at work and they certainly don’t want to now, and that is ok, ask them what is the best way of us  staying in touch until you return?

Finally, it will be important for every employer to ensure that the organisation culture is inclusive, and that every employee feels they are returning to a supportive and caring environment. The  pandemic has had an unequal impact across the workforce in many ways, as different groups of employees, and individuals, will have been affected in diverse ways according to their job role and individual circumstances.

As HR professionals and business leaders you have a brilliant opportunity to use a blank piece of paper and get creative into how you reshape the future of work. People have been talking about agile working for years, but did we actually recognise what it meant? We do now! Do not expect your culture to pick up where it left off, and for some of us, that might be a good thing.

Farleys Solicitors can support you with any legal obligations, contact us on [email protected]; and the Delvers can support you in resetting your culture to create the conditions where your people can thrive. Get in touch to carry on the conversation at [email protected]