The world is going through a very challenging phase. Covid-19 has impacted people, families, economy, and work among a lot of other things. Work has become even more challenging than ever before. Due to social distancing and being quarantined, people are feeling emotionally disturbed, and due to sudden interruption of necessary services such as electricity, internet connectivity, malfunction of electronic device such as laptop/ Desktop/ earphones people are mentally frustrated and due to non-availability of maids we end up taking care of household chores apart from our office work which greatly impacts work-Life balance. This whole change of cycle affects the relationships at home which again hamper work and the overall productivity of employees. “Work from Home” is quite new to most of us, it has its own pros and cons. It is high time to accept the change and to manage work efficiently and improve productivity.
Maslow’s Theory of Motivation:
Let us consider Maslow’s Theory. According to this theory, every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization, referring to the need people have to achieve their full potential. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by a failure to meet lower level needs. This is very much related to our current scenario. Most of us have the benefit of fulfilling physiological needs like food, water, shelter and a few others may have difficulty in this level as well. The next level is Safety Needs; this includes Job security, Financial Security, Health Security. In the current scenario people are facing challenges in Safety needs due to Pay Cuts, Fear of losing jobs, Lack of performance appraisals as this is the ideal season for many organizations to run their PMS, fear of being infected by COVID.
What can be done by the Management to reduce the impact of Security Needs?
- Try not to cut down jobs and assure your employees that their jobs are secure.
- Do not practice forced pay cuts. Be open, talk with your employees about the challenges that the business is facing at present and work on voluntary pay cuts, making sure that this is a short term plan. Keep the data confidential and avoid any judgments as we never know what financial issues each one is facing.
- In case if the Performance appraisals are deferred make sure that you communicate effectively with the team and you can also start working on performance based Incentives if applicable as this will also act as a motivating factor for employees and thus improving their performance.
- Once the people get back to work, maintain a healthy environment following the guidelines for prevention of COVID.
- Provide benefits like Medical Insurance for employees
What can be done by individuals to reduce the impact of Security Needs?
- Plan your budget, spend less and save more. (For Example we can now save the money that we spent on travelling for work)
- Upgrade your skills by learning something relevant to your work. Wide skill sets will be an added advantage to sustain in a job as well as to procure a new job.
- Do not panic, and follow health guidelines.
Considering the next level which is the “Social Need” At this level, the need for emotional relationships drives human behavior. Some of the things that satisfy this need include Friendships, relationships, Family, Social groups, Community groups and religious organizations. In the current situation it has become hard for us to meet our need for socializing. This could lead to loneliness, depression, anxiety, irritability and an emotional disturbance which leads to lack of focus of work and decreased productivity.
What can be done by the Management to reduce the impact of Social Needs?
- Conduct employee engagement activities and games and focus.
- Connect with your employees via virtual team meetings.
What can be done by individuals to reduce the impact of Social Needs?
- Meditate daily, exercise regularly, develop an indoor hobby (Cooking, Reading online books, Watching some online series/movies, listening to music)
- Get support from counselors if needed
- Develop a work life balance and spend some quality time with your family and friends through a phone call.
A few general guidelines:
- Do not procrastinate work.
- Be transparent.
- Be Accountable of your duties.
- Dedicate your time for work.
- Plan and schedule your day.
- Create a culture of openness and trust.
- Communicate effectively.]
Crisis moments create opportunity. Problems and crises ignite our greatest creativity and thought leadership as it forces us to focus on things outside the norm – Sam Cawthorn.