Year 2020 Started on a note that was shocking to everyone over the globe. Corona virus pandemic had taken over the world and the businesses found it very difficult to even function under these new found circumstances. It had become empirical for organisations to now take steps that would lead their organisation afloat. However not every organisation could adapt to the situation very well. The difference was not in strategy rather in willingness to adapt. Organisations run on the work done by their employees and hence it becomes very important for organisations to adapt to employees and their needs.
Let us see how two organisations and their responses towards pandemic lead to difference in their outcomes.
Gargi was a writer and when the Pandemic hit she chose to take work from home. She had pre existing health issues and was scared to acquire the infection.However after 15th of may when government announced that offices could start and ask their employees to come regularly, gargi was terrified of this idea, but she thought she could be given work from home by her employer as she already had some pre-existing issues and also her work could be easily managed from home. So she talked to her manager about the same.
She said to her , Mujhe kafi immunity issues reh chuke hain, aur sath hi aasthama bhi hai, kya main ghar se hi kaam kar sakti hu jab tak vaccine nahi ajati?
Her manager however discouraged her to work from home and did not adapt to her request. Gargi started struggling with the idea of going to office, and she would not turn up to office some days. Her manager thought that since Gargi has a pre existing condition and is not willing to come to office she would not be a good fit for the office anymore. Gargi was asked to leave her job.The manager set out to find out a new writer for this position but could not find anyone as good as Gargi. This meant loss of quality writing and loss for business as well. the manager at this point of time realized if she had adapted with Gargi's request then she would not have faced this issue.
On the other hand another organisation known for its employee friendliness had granted work from home to all employees. A few operations could only be done from office though and for that reason they called just 20% of their employees to office. Of these 20% was Maya a mother of 10 year old Child, juggling her responsibilities as a mother and an employee with a demanding job. In times of Corona her responsibilities multiplied when her child had to attend school from home. She sought support from her manager. she talked to her manager and said,
“Is waqt mujhe apne bachhe ko ghar me dekhna aur uski padhai karwana bhi bohot zaroori hai, work pe aane se mere bachhe ko bhi risk rehta hai Infection ka, iski wajah se mera stress badh raha hai aur mujhe kafi dikkatein ho rahi hain"
To which her manager replied
“Tum chinta mat karo, hum jaldi hi iska solution nikalenge"
Management allowed her to work from home and gave her work which would be done from home instead of the operations that required her to be in office. Maya felt very supported from the organisation & this led her to perform much better than ever before.She became even more loyal to the organisation and worked day in and day out to ensure business was going well. This organization helped many of its employees in times of Corona and realised that their productivity had gone much higher. This helped organisation to fare pretty well in times of coronavirus.
The way two organizations responded to the same problem prove organisational psychology to be right when it says that a happy, supported and healthy employee will always work more efficiently than any other person in this world. This is why it is important that when a crisis has struck then organisations support their employees with friendly policies rather than increasing their stress by imposing orders. This adaptability and agility is the need of this hour.
As per a research those organisations that showed flexibility in terms of work and supported their employees in times of Corona. Have thrived and fared well in times of crisis. However those organisations that were rigid in their operations and did not support employees have had difficulties and ailed in the times of pandemic.
The lesson here is that leadership needs to be flexible and inclusive of all human beings instead of being a set of very strict rules that cannot be bent.