The world is currently fighting a pandemic: the COVID-19. As of the World Health Organization’s latest tally, there are already almost 40,000, 000 confirmed cases worldwide. The COVID-19 is a result of the infection of a new coronavirus officially named as the SARS-CoV-2. This large family of viruses is also the cause of diseases such as the common colds, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus or MERS-CoV. With the threat of this disease looming over the heads of everyone, how will you go on keeping your employees healthy in these times of crisis?

 

Keeping Your Employees Healthy in Times of Crisis

The COVID-19 is certainly not the first time a health crisis needs to be addressed by organizations. And it certainly won’t be the last. Your employees are your biggest asset. They’re the reason why your business runs, and the reason they’ll continue to run. It’s definitely important that they stay healthy, especially during times of crisis. Because while health is a personal problem, your business is also paying the cost of having unhealthy employees. But how can you keep your employees healthy?

 

Invest in good medical insurance for your people

Most Filipino workers don’t really put going to the doctor their first choice when they get sick. Mainly because they’re afraid of how much it’ll cost. They usually wait until they get better naturally, or they self-medicate. The problem with this is that it can take longer for them to recover, or worse, their situation doesn’t get better and requires even more medical care. And the longer your employees are gone (physically or mentally), the higher the lost productivity time for your company.

Ease the worries of your employees by providing them a good health coverage plan as part of their benefits.  When you do, you get employees that are more satisfied with their jobs. In fact, a 2018 Clutch survey reports that more than half of employees say that health insurance is the most important benefit in terms of their job satisfaction. Some other benefits of providing medical insurance for your team are higher productivity rates, talent attraction, employer branding, and improved employee morale.

The bottom line: Providing your employees with medical insurance can help ease some of their uncertainties during times of crisis.

 

Provide them a healthy working environment

Your company environment has a great effect on how healthy your employees will be. The working environment doesn’t just mean the space where your employees do their job or their office. It also includes psychological aspects like work organization or their wellbeing.

To provide a good physical working environment for your employees, you have to:

  • Have comfortable, functional, clean, and well-lit working spaces.
  • Provide them with the necessary equipment and supplies.
  • Have the amenities that can make them satisfied with their job.

Some things also needed to have a healthy working environment—as listed by John Rampton in a Forbes article—are trust, good and open communication, recognition, flexibility, and empowerment.

The bottom line: A healthy working environment can assure your employee’s productivity even during times of crisis.

 

Implement wellness programs

Wellness programs, when researched and implemented properly, can help you keep your employees healthy. One reason is that wellness programs promote healthy behaviors. As of the moment, COVID-19 has no cure. But, your body can fight the infection—if you boost your immune system. And to have a good immune system, you need to have healthy behaviors. When you implement wellness programs, you instill in your employees the behaviors they need to make sure that they stay healthy.

The bottom line: Critical times can be taxing to your employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. When you implement wellness programs, you help your employees maintain a healthy condition.

 

Allow them to take time off when needed

Allow your employees time off during these critical times. Better if you can offer them paid leaves! If you watch the news, you’ll see multiple interviews of people who still fight to go to work despite the directive of the government for strict home quarantine. Mainly because of one reason—they need to go to work. If they don’t go to work, they won’t have money that can help them survive during the times they’re not allowed to go out.

Some employees also insist to go to work despite not feeling well for the same reason. This not only risks them to not get well earlier but also risks the people they encounter to get sick, too.

The bottom line: Have some empathy. Your employees need time off, too. It’s better for their health!

 

Times of crisis are hard for everybody. Especially these days, where health is a primary concern. Help your employees in keeping healthy with the tips above! And we hope you also stay safe and well during these times.