Going back to work is about more than safety & flexibility. It’s about purpose.
Over the past month, many of us breathed a sigh of relief — and it was visible too. The masks came off, doors in our communities opened wide, we could smile at each other once more. Now, in the wake of this vibrancy, it’s time to clock in again. A lot of us are beginning to return to our offices, to reconvene in conference rooms and chat by water coolers, and subsequently, we’re reimagining what this will look like. What safety precautions should we put in place? Should everyone be required to come daily? What flexibility can we allow? How do we ensure productivity? After working remotely for over a year, these are all important questions, but perhaps an even more significant matter to consider is engagement.
How do we motivate our teams?
As the leader of a company, I’m constantly looking for ways to inspire and encourage my staff, and one way we achieve that at Replate is by giving back to our community. From my perspective, it’s more important now than ever that businesses, big or small, create initiatives to stimulate staff development through worthwhile causes. When we faced COVID-19, the only solution was to coalesce, we found a way out through unbridled support. And here we are — almost out! — but in turn, the way back in is as one. The bridge must remain standing, empowered, and strong.
For executives establishing new staff policies and schedules, I believe purpose should be front and center, whether that’s through sustainability initiatives, philanthropy, or education. Safety and logistics are part of the plan, but they’re not everything. This year, we watched police persecute our neighbors; terrorists invade our Capitol; wildfires enrage our shores, forests, and farmlands; vulnerable populations suffer under climate peril; and the entire world topples to an invisible killer. It was tough, grievous, and many lost hope. Others felt charged and tense. Either way, the solution was not to act alone, but as a community, and we should embrace this raison d’etre as we return to work.
Consider that, for many people, the work never stopped. There wasn’t an option to remain safely at home, avoid public transportation, eat outside, or cling to delivery. Everyone didn’t have the luxury of choice. Specifically, the food industry took a toll. Those working in restaurants, grocery stores, and other channels kept going. Their hours didn’t change, there was no flexibility, if anything, there was less. And yet still, they didn’t have enough to eat. There are more than 13 million people working in restaurants in the U.S., and nearly a third of those workers face food insecurity. Servers are three times more likely to live below the poverty line than the average worker, and restaurant workers overall have the lowest reported wages of any occupation. Further, these workers labor in conditions most of us would sneer at, filling last-minute double shifts at unusual times or late at night, struggling to find child care for their children, lacking reliable transportation.
Can you imagine going through all that during a pandemic?
And what about those on our farms? They had no opportunity to join zoom calls in lieu of tilling that land, and like their counterparts in restaurants, they barely make enough to get by. Millions of farmworkers in this country counter numerous barriers when trying to get food, including low wages, poor public transportation, and a lack of culturally appropriate meals. The average income of an American farmworker is between $17,500 and $20,000, well below the poverty line, and the pandemic amplified this formidable discrepancy. Even when diagnosed with COVID-19, farmworkers reported going into work for fear of losing pay, or their jobs.
So when we talk to our teams about “returning to work,” let’s remember to talk about those who never left. The frontline teams who cared for us when we were sick, who rallied with us when we lived in fear, and also the ones who brought us food. They made sure we stayed nourished even though they themselves were not. It’s not enough to add a Giving Tuesday to the calendar or allot employees a volunteer day. We need to be more consistent about giving, it’s about education and engagement. Maybe even Replate?
Let’s not just revise the schedule, let’s change the program.
