[disclaimer] In the midst of our quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak, many people are being forced to work from home for the foreseeable future. Your work may be pretty much the same as before, but your work setup is probably different (couch, meet butt). Although it’s cozy, this desk alternative isn’t ideal for your back—which is...
Employers want to help employees meet their short-term financial needs during the COVID-19 pandemic first. Employees are seeking financial guidance to help them navigate the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and take control of their finances. Nearly 60 percent of workers say that they or a close family member...
Individuals are burning out at an alarming rate. People feel the constant demand to deliver, so they're either burning out or they're leaving their professions altogether, due to high stress and burnout. With COVID-19, this is becoming more prevalent and amplified, due to all the demands from working from home...
While a majority of employers believe that their employees will return to their workplaces after COVID-19’s impact diminishes, working from home isn’t going to disappear. The reality is that a huge number of people were already working from home (almost 10 million workers in the U.S. in 2019); that number...
If you’re embarking upon any kind of journey amid an ongoing pandemic, you could probably use some practical, proven-effective pointers for keeping yourself and your family healthy and virus-free along your route. Yale- and Harvard-trained ER Physician, Dr. Darria Long Gillespie, is one of the medical experts who has joined...
We bet 20 years ago no one would have imagined this scenario: Every kid in America homeschooling for the latter part of last semester and most employees working from home. Everyone was suddenly put on a jury-rigged schedule, or reinventing the current office model to connect with suddenly dispersed teams....
In the times of COVID-19, walking quickly became the workout darling. With gyms closed and at-home workouts the new norm, a walking workout not only one of the best ways to get some fresh air while social distancing (something even experts recommend, as long as you abide by the six-feet-apart...
To foster healthier communities, businesses are taking a holistic approach – understanding the interconnection between the community, their employees, and health outcomes. Despite the dramatic changes experienced globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, companies and brands of all sizes and industries are still leading the way with innovative concepts for...
Corporate environmental health and safety practices have become headline news amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations are under increasing scrutiny to ensure they’re adhering to proper safety guidelines as they reopen their doors. The way safety leaders deliver this information to their staff will have a significant impact on their ability...
As travelers tentatively begin to take to the skies again, U.S. airlines have been launching new health and safety measures to make them feel more comfortable with flying amid the coronavirus pandemic. The latest effort: pre-flight health questionnaires meant to rule out if a flier has been exposed to or contracted COVID-19. United Airlines...
As the world navigates the new workforce landscape, the demand for talent will only grow. Modern industry has received a drastic jolt in 2020 and, as digital interphases have become a critical need for some business, it's imperative that companies (across many more industries) act aggressively to close the tech...
In early March, there were fewer than 100,000 cases and 4,000 deaths globally. Now, not quite three months later, infections exceed 5.5 million and employers face a whole new set of questions as they consider how to reopen the workplace after weeks or months of restrictions. As always, employers must...
Companies that use offices as “centers of gravity” and places for connection likely won’t require as much space as before. Their workplaces will become more about human experiences and collaboration rather than square footage. While organizations are looking forward to bringing back workers into the office, they are also rethinking the...
It seems like Zoom has been on everyone's desk (or at least in their minds) for the past 3-4 months as part of a nationwide surge in virtual conferencing due to the COVID-19 outbreak and now we are faced with another controversial point to add to the remote conversation. Zoom...
Many have suffered profound losses during the pandemic and have not had sufficient opportunity to grieve. Almost all of us have experienced loneliness. There will be more cases of anxiety and depression, and some survivors and their families will have post-traumatic stress syndrome. Access to mental health services was often poor before...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a global reckoning with the awesome power of infectious diseases to grind economies to a halt. The forced lockdowns and retreat into home isolation have also given us a heightened awareness of the role our surroundings play in our health and wellbeing. While no one...
If you don’t already, you will soon know someone who has been ill with Covid-19 and survived. They will be our friends, our family, our neighbors, and our colleagues. History will judge us by the way we treat them. Unfortunately, as my and others’ research makes clear, stigma has exacerbated the suffering...
Uber rides were down in March 2020, but started to rebound in recent weeks after some states reopened. Now, the company is instituting big changes to make riders and drivers safer -- and boost selfies. Both riders and drivers will be required to wear masks during trips, and riders will be allowed to ride...
With the country more divided than ever on whether or not to return to the office, another alternative arises for business owners and corporations: testing on site. But can it help curb the spread? Experts have weighed in and the short answer is no. Not only can it hinder the...
In a typical year, you will take two million breaths in your office. This, however, is not a typical year. The pandemic spawned by the novel coronavirus has forced a global reckoning with the awesome power of infectious diseases to grind economies to a halt. The forced lockdowns and retreat...
International business travel is unlikely to rebound until after this pandemic has receded. Many countries, if they allow international arrivals, require 14 days of quarantine, and business travelers might be quarantined again on return home. International business will continue to use teleconferences and videoconferences for many months to come, and...
The tech skills gap has been a problem for a while now, and as the world navigates the new workforce landscape, the demand for talent will only grow. Now more than ever, tech skills are needed in every industry. Companies will need new tech support to enable efficient remote work. Waves of innovation spurred from...
Given the recommendation of social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have some confusion about your new work from home situation. Like, that your office is now a crumb-encrusted couch, and your commute is best explained as “waking up” and “going to bed.” Because of these environmental factors, it’s...
While a staggering 20.5 million jobs were lost in April with 33 million Americans seeking unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic, many businesses continue to hire--and not just Instacart or Amazon. Industries including technology, health care, and financial services continue to bring on employees. Glassdoor even created an...
Over the past few years, employers have started to use smartphone apps that give workers immediate access to their earned pay in return for a transaction fee of a few dollars. Now, there are signs that their use has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower-paid workers are not the only...
More employees than ever are working remotely due to COVID-19, and some companies may continue to implement more flexible work arrangements even after their physical businesses reopen. Without the in-person oversight that onsite work offers, people are looking for tools and systems to self-manage their productivity. To help you find...
Obviously, no one could predict or be fully prepared for a pandemic, so to say that some have had a smoother transition than others would be a gross understatement. From learning new vocabulary words to incorporating new and more frequent hygienic practices to seeing all of your peers and clients...
It's quite plausible that the most difficult part of 2020 has been uncertainty. Uncertainty about how contagious COVID-19 really is and when it's going to end (and how). We face uncertainty about the travel that we have planned. Uncertainty about the economy. Uncertainty about our jobs. Yet, uncertainty can be...
As COVID-19 struck businesses, most of which were completely unprepared for this type of situation, topics as essential as inclusion and diversity in the workplace were pushed to a realm of secondary, non-essential items. As workplaces shut down and employees moved to work from home, the reality and dynamics of...
For many in the learning field, COVID-19 has thrust us into uncharted territory. We’re doing our best to stay home as much as possible, which in many cases means figuring out how to do our jobs from home. And even if we’re not working from home, we’re grappling with how...
Remember Woody Allen’s remark that 80% of success is showing up? That is especially useful advice in a downturn. Start going to all those voluntary and informal meetings you used to skip. Be visible. Get out of your office and walk the floor to see how folks are doing. Take...
The Coronavirus has upended just about everything. We all want to see our lives get back to normal, but what will that mean? The future is murky, and we all agree there will be some permanent changes to the world. These are bound to alter our working environment. Here are...
It's no secret that the travel industry has taken a big hit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Though there are things we can do now that business travel is on hold, we don't know when we'll be able to travel as normal again. And while both business and leisure travel (and bleisure...
Many of us have been sheltering in place for months — and with most gyms closed, this period has changed the way we incorporate movement into our days. Some have invested in at-home fitness equipment or online training sessions, while others have reassessed what a “workout” has to look like, fitting in small bursts...
As a nexus of technology, community, and the locus of our livelihood, the workplace is a topic of perpetual interest in architecture and interior design. The novel coronavirus pandemic, however, has disrupted the workplace in ways that few pundits anticipated. Previously, design firms, industry specialists, and academic researchers speculated on...
From posting live workouts online via social media to using virtual class vendors, teams are continuing to serve their staff by keeping them engaged in health and fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual Group Exercise Class Schedule The fitness center staff at a national insurance company is offering Take a Stress Break...
Workplace wellness programs typically include focus areas such as eating healthy, exercising, seeking preventive screenings, and dealing with stress, but has your organization addresses emergency preparedness thoroughly? Emergency preparedness is an often overlooked area of health and wellness but is an important subject that your team needs and would likely...
Millions of travelers are understandably concerned about flying in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. One of the paramount issues is determining if the air on planes hastens the spread of infection. The Centers for Disease Control is blunt about flying during the age of the coronavirus. “Travel increases your chances of getting...
Business closings, airline shutdowns, layoffs, quarantines — every day, even every hour, it seems like there’s some new anxiety-provoking development stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. People are worried about themselves, their families, and (apparently) their toilet paper supply. Also, their money. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, over 75% of individuals are feeling significantly more nervous about...
Companies tend to pursue two kinds of approaches to diversity and inclusion. The first is costly and highly visible; think days-long all-expenses-paid events or ambitious efforts to offer every employee coaching and training. The second is perfunctory and performative, with one or two full-time employees running a barebones and mostly...
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down, and staying home has become the new normal. Whether to comply with a local stay-at-home order or to heed public health social distancing guidance, countless businesses have sent their workforce home—to telework. For some businesses, this was relatively painless due to...
As a could-be medical pandemic, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)—the respiratory disease first detected in Wuhan, China, at the end of December, which now has more than 82,000 confirmed cases worldwide—has incited pandemonium globally, specifically among travelers. After all, planes pose a unique risk for any disease contraction: Long flights result in longer...
A couple of years ago — long before COVID-19 was an unfortunate glimmer in the CDC’s eye — some therapists made the decision to switch from in-person therapy to telemedicine. If you are someone who has usually struggled with opening up to therapists, it may be easier to be vulnerable if...
Emotional exhaustion lies at the heart of burnout. As your emotional resources are used up in trying to cope with challenging situations — such as overwhelming demands, conflict, or lack of support at work or at home — your sense of well-being and capacity to care for yourself and others is...
We’re all experiencing the COVID-19 crisis. This current state of our world involves considerable stress, overwhelming changes, and overall disruption to our daily lives and routine. While we’re all waiting for things to resolve, and therefore for the day when we can return to normalcy again, the goal is for...
Multitasking and constant interruptions at work can lead people to display negative emotions in addition to stress, according to a study published last month and led by researchers at the University of Houston. Researchers used an algorithm to analyze the faces of knowledge workers while they completed an essay writing task. One...