While the pandemic is showing some signs of slowing down, the damage to the economy and to many small businesses has already been done. In fact, reports show that close to two thirds of small businesses in Toronto could close permanently in the next three months.

Small businesses have always been the backbone of the economy. To have so many small businesses close at the same time would be devastating to the economy. While the government has provided emergency relief measures, it might prove to be insufficient for many small business owners.

At Workholler we’re trying to do what we can to help Employers and Employees by providing services at discounted price and working with our suppliers to help them through this difficult time. We would also like to pass forward any kind gestures that we receive and we encourage you to do the same. To all those working on the front lines, and those doing what they can to help others, your kind gestures are a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Thank you.

Employers Can Help

• Understand times are tough for employees. Ask your employees to see which ones can afford to have reduced hours, or to take their vacations, in order to allow those that cannot afford reduced pay to remain employed full-time.
• Check up on your employees regularly to let them know the situation with the business, and to see if they are doing ok. Small gestures of kindness will go a long way.
• Instead of layoffs, try to see if reduced hours could work for the team. Most people would prefer to stay employed, even at reduced hours, rather than go on EI.
• When the business re-opens, bring back your team at their original salaries. Do not use this pandemic as an excuse to shake up the team, or to extract concessions from your employees. They deserve better.
• Try to work with your employees to create a solution that works for everyone as much as possible. If it’s not possible to satisfy everyone’s needs, try to point them to government resources and provide any support they need in applying for EI, government grants, loans or even a new job. Small gestures matter and you can look yourself in the mirror with the satisfaction that you have tried your best.

Employees Can Help

• Understand the employers are in a tough spot as well. This pandemic has affected businesses as much as it did workers.
• Talk to your employer and co-workers. Offer to help if you can, it doesn’t have to be monetary help, any small gesture of kindness will go a long way.
• Manage expectations. It will take time for things to go back to normal. That could mean reduced pay for a little while, maybe you could chip in a bit more with helping the business re-open. Perhaps check in on co-workers to see if everyone is ok. Check in on your boss too.
• Remember that business owners are just people too, with their own families and challenges to deal with. So treat them with kindness and understanding.

I have no doubt that together we can get through these difficult times. We will triumph over this and we will be stronger for it. In the meantime, let’s all show a little kindness to each other, and help those in need to get through the tough times. Stay safe!

With Coronavirus shutting down most major cities in the world, and social distancing more and more becoming the norm. Many companies have implemented working from home policies in light of the virus. Once life returns to normal (soon, fingers crossed), would we all go back to the way things were or would work-from-home become the norm going forward?

After all, working from home allows the worker to avoid time-consuming commute to and from work, thus saving time (as many as 3-4 hours a day), which can either be used to increase work productivity, or to enjoy some work-life balance with activities such as working out, yoga, or just getting some R&R.

In 2013, then Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer made the decision to cancel Yahoo’s generous Work-From-Home policy. She was initially vilified for her unpopular decision, however, some touted her decision as being ahead of the curve, as working from home proved unproductive for other organizations. However, as this CNBC article points out, what works for Silicon Valley tech companies might not work for Government organizations and vise versa. If in the long run Yahoo becomes more productive overall, Mayer may yet be proven right.

Sadly that wasn’t the case. After rising to the top role at Yahoo amidst much fanfare, her 5-year tenure was mired with slow growth and employee dissatisfaction. She was eventually ousted as Yahoo’s chief officer in 2017.

For all the talk about improved productivity, her decision ultimately proved to be the wrong one. She underestimated the significant value of allowing work from home in improving employee satisfaction and engagement.

Consider if a Work From Home Policy is Right For Your Business

Work from home doesn’t work for all organizations. It’s obvious that it’s not possible (yet) for retail stores, restaurants, and other customer facing businesses. We expect to be served by a real person, not a phone or computer.

Other positions such as telephone customer support can easily accommodate a work from home policy, with easy-to-track targets and records to maintain productivity.

And then there’s everything in between. The rule of thumb is, if the role requires very standard operating procedures and involves a lot of individual work, it can generally be done at home. If a role requires a lot of collaboration, with lots of fluid discussions and team meetings, working from home could be challenging.

Challenging, but Not Impossible

With the advance of collaborating tools such as Slack, and video conferencing software such as Zoom, working from home can be made easy for many roles that didn’t have such options before.

At the end of the day, as long as the organization is comfortable with result-driven productivity measures, and not time-driven productivity, and management is not worried about tracking where someone is at all times (impossible with work from home, short of giving everyone a GPS chip, and George Orwell would turn over in his grave if we went there), working from home will become more prevalent in the future as more and more workers demand it, and more and more companies embrace it.