While so much has changed, there’s still a part of our lives that is stubbornly fighting to stay exactly the same.
The issue of corporate presenteeism; bosses who insist that staff come to work, despite the proven fact that they can effectively work from home, is one that threatens the slow gains we are making against Covid-19.
These are extraordinary times requiring us to adapt our expectations to an ever-mutating virus and our government’s response to it.
But why then are so many companies being so uncompromising and insisting that staff continue as if we are not all desperately trying to keep ourselves and our loved ones alive?
So many parents I know were worried sick about what to do with their children when schools closed ahead of time last week, knowing that their bosses would be reluctant to accommodate a situation that was out of their control.
In fact, out of anybody’s control.
Companies would be best suited to look at innovative ways of doing business; solutions that are nimble enough to adapt to whatever future challenges lie ahead for humanity.
Presenteeism isn’t one of them!
Because the truth is that most workers simply don’t have the resources to accommodate and absorb the sudden changes our times are demanding of us.
They don’t have last-minute babysitters whom they can call.
And even if they did, they don’t have the money to throw at the challenges, which seem to evolve as fast as the virus does.
Bosses need to step out of their own comfort zones and realise that their staff don’t have the resource capacity that they do.
And corporate South Africa as a whole should not ignore the bigger picture that goes beyond alleviating the mental anguish and guilt of parents.
Having parents at home serves the additional, broader purpose of mitigating the mental toll this pandemic is taking on kids and shaping healthy young minds.
Something our society is sorely in need of now and will be even more so going forward.
While budgets, targets and sales figures are important, they cannot be the main priority right now, because it will result in us taking three steps back, for every one we take forward.
The financial goal (for now) should simply be to break even, meaning more directors and investors need to come to the party and sacrifice profits for the greater good.
The greater good being the emotional well-being and lives of their workforce.
Covid-19 has rapidly outdated presenteeism; showing that – in a future of pandemics – it is not a sustainable model.
The whole system of demanding that staff come to work, despite how this pandemic is affecting us all, is just ridiculously shortsighted.
It’s part of the old-normal that may never return, if we keep wanting to force it back with unreasonable expectations.
Bosses must let go of the need to see their staff working, or at least looking busy.
The severe lack of trust that their adult staff will act responsibly about their workload, is now a matter of life and death.
But trust me, we all appreciate the gravity of the situation that we find ourselves in, and we value the fact that we still have an income.
So we will do what we need to do to protect our jobs.
In fact, most people I speak to have found that they accomplish a lot more when working from home and they have the added benefit of being around their families.
Bosses must accept that this is out of our hands, and act accordingly.
The difference between bosses and leaders is that leaders will now ask questions and find out how their staff are going to cope and offer whatever help is reasonable.
A dose of sympathy and a little compassion will go a very long way.