How Are The Coronavirus and Your Company Culture Connected?

There are a lot of great resources out there to help companies navigate the COVID-19 outbreak. One of my favorites comes from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). 

Here’s one of their great resources, and my eye went right to the bottom. This statement is much-needed (especially right now) for every company.

But, unfortunately, this type of statement is often an empty statement in many workplaces. And, truth is, your employees might not trust the truth and intent of ‘stay/work from home’ statements.

Coronavirus and Your REAL Company Culture – The Connection

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I’ve worked in plenty of places where people would show up with symptoms of COVID-19 out of fear for what will happen if they ask to work from home or decided to self-isolate. So, your REAL company culture has plenty to do with the topic of the day.

Let’s be honest, many workplaces make ‘stay/work from home’ statements like this on paper, but the REAL company culture penalizes people for taking time off or asking to work from home when someone is well enough to work but is/might be contagious.

You know the kind of culture I’m talking about. The kind of culture where:

• The employee handbook makes PTO very clear, but leadership either aren’t empowered or aren’t willing to look at situations and make human decisions.
• Past experiences have taught employees they will be cut out of projects and conversations if they aren’t in the office to “protect their territory.”
• Employees would rather work sick than sit at home unrestful and worried about the reaction of their boss and colleagues for taking time.
• PTO policies and work from home options (which are often non-existent. Yes, even in 2020) are so archaic and inflexible people would rather show up sick and put others at risk than cash in their precious time.
• Trust doesn’t exist, and the CEO is either blind to it or sticking his/her head in the stand about it.

How to address the ‘come to work sick’ culture you might have

Before you tell your staff (in earnest, I’m sure) to work from home or take time off if they feel ill, take a pause and think about your REAL company culture.

Then, ask yourself how you can make this statement in a way where your team knows:

• You are serious – you want them to do this.
• They will not be penalized by anyone for doing so.
• They will not let the team down by staying home or taking time off to feel better. They will actually be serving the organization by doing so.
• They will not be cut out of important projects, conversations, and decisions if it can be helped. They do not need to come in to defend their work or their perceived territory.

And, of course, now is a great time to visit any outdated policies you might be hanging on to. If nothing else, your company would be well-served to have a work from home policy in place for times like these. And, you would be even better served to let your team practice working from home before they have to. 

If you don’t trust your team to occasionally work from home, you are going to be very anxious (and rigid) when there are no other choices. The best way to build that trust is to give them opportunities to earn it … before there is an actual (and critical) need to do so.

Finally, if you are a decision-maker, leader or influencer in your company:

• Take some time to learn about your REAL company culture (hint: it isn’t always what you see in staff meetings and it is almost never what is in the handbook).
• Invest in your team as humans first, employees second.
• Remember, you are responsible for setting the tone of culture. If culture isn’t your thing, find someone to help you. It matters.

Erin Meadows is an executive coach, speaker, & corporate culture/leadership consultant. She works with individuals and teams with the goal of helping them – and their organizations – thrive.