Although it may not seem like it right now, the global pandemic will eventually end.\u00a0 When it does, life will begin returning to normal.\u00a0 People will start coming back into the office again after an extended hibernation working from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The simple truth is that in a lot of companies, not everyone will come back.\u00a0 The economic realities of the pandemic hit hard, and many companies have already been forced to downsize.\u00a0 Before it\u2019s all over with, many more will almost certainly follow suit.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who do make it back to the workplace then, are survivors in more ways than one and should definitely be rewarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When things start opening back up again and people start returning to work, you can bet that morale will be lower.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gone will be the days of big team meetings.\u00a0 If your office will meet before Covid-19 has been completely eradicated then, fears of the pandemic will be near the forefront of everyone\u2019s mind and the safest choice will be to keep teams smaller and more compact, which will reduce the spread of a second outbreak in your office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, understand that morale is, and will continue to\nsuffer. The isolation of working from\nhome and the lack of social interaction has sapped morale, and returning to the\noffice only to find that some, and perhaps many of their co-workers were let go\nto keep the company afloat is certain to dent morale further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given all of that, once everyone comes back together, it will be important to celebrate victory of the virus and a return to normal life.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your company already has a recognition program in place, that will be relatively easy, although you\u2019ll almost certainly have to refrain from having big, company wide reward and recognition celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, keep them to smaller, more focused gatherings,\npreferably of ten people or fewer. That\ndoesn\u2019t mean the occasion has to be any less festive, it just means that there\nwon\u2019t be as many people in close proximity as there once were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, given the state of technology today, it\u2019s easy\nenough to share those moments company wide, via video conferencing apps that\ncan seamlessly connect smaller teams, pictures posted on the company\u2019s\u2019\nwebsite, and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big thing though, is simply this:\u00a0 When the shelter in place orders finally end and your employees come back to work, honor them.\u00a0 Recognize them.\u00a0 Celebrate your shared victory over the pandemic.\u00a0 The reality is that we haven\u2019t seen anything like this since the early 1900\u2019s.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This pandemic will be one of the defining moments in people\u2019s\u2019 lives, and those who come through it will be stronger for it and should be celebrated as survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a hashtag that has become wildly popular since all\nof this began. #AloneTogether. There\u2019s a lot of truth to that. Right now, we are mostly alone. Isolated and carrying on as best we can. We should all look forward to the day when we\ncan once more be together, without the alone part. That will be a great day indeed, and\nsomething well worth celebrating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Although it may not seem like it right now, the global pandemic will eventually end.\u00a0 When it does, life will begin returning to normal.\u00a0 People will start coming back into the office again after an extended hibernation working from home. The simple truth is that in a lot of companies, not everyone will come back.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[656,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-employee-recognition-2","category-office-life"],"yoast_head":"\n