After the first case of coronavirus (Covid-19) was detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, various industries were hit with a shortage of workers, prompting several businesses to call a halt to their work. Impact of Coronavirus, While most sectors have undergone a decline in the workforce, in recent months, a few others have also observed a significant increase in the job rate.
Impact of Coronavirus on Staffs Across Various Industries
The Healthcare Industry: One such industry is currently witnessing an increase in the number of workers due to the coronavirus in the healthcare industry. According to studies, countries such as Iran, Greece, South Korea, Italy, and China, which are most affected by the virus have accelerated the recruitment process for workers employed in hospitals, laboratories, and other places where medical assistance is required. More hospitals are being established in China to cater for the growing number of infected people across the nation. Such hospitals need to train personnel to operate appropriately, thereby causing the need for more staff.
The Airline Industry: Several airline companies have canceled flights in an attempt to avoid the virus from spreading. For this cause, there has been a dramatic decrease in several airport employees. According to news, Cathay Pacific, a Hong Kong airline group, has asked its staff to take unpaid leave due to a loss of business caused by the coronavirus.
The Construction Industry: The rapid construction of new hospitals at different locations, within a limited period, built to treat patients with coronavirus has resulted in a rise in the number of workers in the construction industry. Since the number of people getting infected is increasing, more architects and engineers are working to accelerate various building projects across the globe. In China, a 25,000-square-foot emergency hospital was constructed in 10 days to treat patients with coronavirus. Many new construction projects are on the way, leading to an ever-increasing number of people affected who need to be admitted to the hospital and treated accordingly.
What is the Possible Way Out?
Given that there are no simple ways to avoid the spread of the virus other than mass vaccination and self-isolation of all infected people; companies have started looking for ways to continue business while the world is still battling the pandemic. Otherwise, the world will come to a significant halt, and the country’s economy is will see free fall.
Flexible system for working/Remote work: It is the most realistic solution for those in countries that are in the midst of virus transmission. One of the most effective ways of avoiding human-to-human transmission is to let workers operate from home.
In remote jobs format, an employee is not only reducing the risk of transmission at the workplace but also during train or bus commutes. This is particularly important in densely populated countries. For an area like mainland China with a few tens or hundreds of people in a town, people are barely inches from each other. Keeping in mind that you cannot say instantly who is infected or not, in such densely populates areas, there is a high risk of spreading the virus from one person to the next. For areas devastated by the pandemic, it can still be business as usual with the use of technology. Using cloud services, project management systems, and various chat channels can be as smooth or maybe even more productive from home than operating in a physical office.
Leave Policies: Despite coronavirus rearing its head around the globe, this time, businesses should revisit their corporate policies. The last thing an organization will want is for an infected person to turn up at the workplace only because they have not had enough paid leave. It not only mentally affects the infected person but also puts those around them at risk.
It won’t matter where the employee works from home or workplace, if the organization is guided more by performance than by the process. It is essential for workers who have come down with flu or any other type of disease that they alert health officials as soon as possible. Unless informed by medical officials, workers should not be pushed into isolation against their will.
As much as the retention rate of workers is essential factor companies need to keep an eye on, certain situations, such as the coronavirus pandemic, find a way to interrupt the recruiting process and impact the number of staff. Although there might be a shortage of workers in some sectors, for some others, it is a different scenario.
During this Impact of Coronavirus, industries such as healthcare and manufacturing have seen a rise in worker numbers. In comparison, sectors such as the airline industry have taken on a blow. By accepting remote work, companies can outlive this pandemic. Instead of the place from which workers conduct their job duties, the focus should be on the performance. By putting in place a flexible structure, companies can do their everyday operations as usual and help keep the economy from experiencing a free fall.
