Decision Making During COVID
During the Covid-19 pandemic our ability to choose has been compromised in many unrecognizable ways. Yet, there are familiar themes throughout the conversations I have been having with myself (yes with myself via my journal!) and with others about the human elements of these decisions. I thought I would share some of these, their underlying implications, and some questions for consideration.
First is the conversation around who decides whether it is safe to return to work, open a business, or have social gatherings. There are so many levels of decision making: organizations deciding how to proceed with their company activities, cities deciding how to engage with their residents, states and provinces individually making choices while also considering the impact to their neighbouring states and provinces, country wide decisions that look at the whole picture, and global choices that consider all the factors past and present that are part of our new normal.
Focusing for a moment on the organizations that have chosen to begin to reopen their places of work, there are challenging decisions to attend to about the need to run your business versus the need to keep your employees safe. From a company perspective there are many businesses that need to reopen, having struggled to survive many weeks of closure. The question is, do you need your employees to go into their workplaces to reopen? When the answer is yes, then there is a whole chain of decisions to be made about how to do that safely. When the answer is no, then there is another layer of consideration around how to keep your employees engaged virtually. Some organizations are finding productivity has been the same with their employees working from home and some are not able to maintain this way of working because of their business model. The decision that is right for one organization may not be right for another. Similarly, while the choice an organization makes may be best for the company as a whole, it may not be the best for each individual. So, are blanket rules the way to navigate returning to work during Covid-19? In my opinion, it is impossible to make one-size fits all solutions. If you are able to create structure for your organization while also providing flexibility for varying individual situations, that will have the greatest long-term success. The implication of prioritizing short-term business decisions ahead of employee decision-making is that your employees may decide not to stick around for the long run.
Second is the implication of the choices being made on individuals, teams, and businesses. When decisions are made for people it can further add to that individual’s feeling of being out of control. It is not uncommon for organizations to have a say in decisions impacting their employees. However, the decisions happening now with the coronavirus have an even larger ripple effect on people’s lives because of the magnitude of what is going on in the world. I think an employee’s choice around their comfort returning to a workplace is the most important factor to consider. Why? Because, it has a large impact on the long-term success of an organization, as well as the short-term productivity and wellbeing of employees. Are you considering whether your employees’ stress levels may dramatically increase if they are forced to go back into the office and do routine testing procedures every day? What about the fact that childcare may not be available or safe yet? Or the fact that someone has a health condition and by going into an office they are unnecessarily being exposed to conditions that could impact them? There are likely long-term negative implications to an organization that is not considering these sorts of questions. The bottom line is that when people have a choice they will likely move to a company that gives them greater decision-making power, reducing feelings of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Third is the conversation around leadership. Who the decision makers are in your family, in your organization, in your cities, throughout your state or province, and within your country impacts the success of the changes being implemented. There are factors that are important to consider when looking at the leaders delivering and engaging in the messages being shared. Is the leader trusted? Is the leader using their position to support their team and colleagues? Is the leader concerned with the business and each individual within the organization? How does the leader create a safe dialogue? All change initiatives require a plan to communicate the change as well as open communication with and a process to achieve buy-in from the stakeholders. Without this, change efforts tend to fail because potential resistance to change has not been addressed. Is the leadership responsible for decision making able to engage with change messages? Leaders have an opportunity to decide how they engage with people around them through active listening, showing empathy and holding space for everyone. During times of uncertainty it is even more important that leaders are authentic, transparent and realistic when communicating and engaging with employees.
Decision making during times of uncertainty is complex and brings about many challenges and considerations. Who the decision-makers are, the implications of the decisions being made, and who the leadership is and how effective they are at engaging in change practices are just a part of the considerations of decision making. Decision-making during times of uncertainty is always hard, and especially now with the uncertainty of Covid-19 it is important to focus on the people who make up our organizations. The decisions we make today will impact the choices employees make tomorrow and employees always have the choice to stay or leave a company. So, the decisions you make for your employees now are more critical than ever before.
