11/17/2020
We'll be blunt. Your workplace needs to adapt to the world we live in.
Let's address the elephant in the room. Some of your employees have children and some don't.
Yes, your employees who have children need flexibility, grace, and empathy while they juggle the unimaginable stresses that come along with working from home while their children are in virtual school at the kitchen table. Your employees who don't have children need that too. Asking childless workers to take on more work will only lead to resentment and anger within your workplace.
These are the employees you hired because they're the best at what they do, the top of their field, and you believe in them. They've dedicated years or maybe even decades to your company and you've invested in them as well. They are not disposable, and the conditions we're all facing will not change. It is in your best interest as an employer to do everything you can to keep your teams together right now.
We're all stuck. We're all feeling burnt out. We're all getting testy, grumpy, and frazzled. If you're a manager, it's your job to make sure your team is presented with realistic goals and expectations. If your team has to shuffle tasks from one employee to another to accommodate the realities of the pandemic, it's up to you to reevaluate your work plan and find a better solution. Maybe a project needs to be pushed to another team or delayed to next year. Maybe you need to hire a few extra folks. Maybe it's time to look at giving everyone Fridays off.
Managers, this is the most important time in your careers to advocate for your teams.
As a matter of sound management and to avoid the risk of discrimination claims, employers should find ways to accommodate working parents during the pandemic and for the long term without making others bear the burden, says Andrew Horowitz at Obermayer Rebmann.