Coping with COVID-19 at Work and at Home: a call with Joan C. Williams and Mary Cranston

On April 2nd, 2020, we had a call with WLE managers & HR professionals to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on work. Check out our resource guide, including the biggest takeaways from this conversation and many other tools. There are also detailed call notes available, and a recording of the call below.

 

 

Suggested Participants: HR professionals, managers, WLE Ambassadors

The current crisis has turned work and home lives upside down globally, and most of us are struggling during this intense period of change and uncertainty. At work we've seen employees and companies attempting to maintain norms of conduct and productivity in the face of sudden telecommuting transitions, lack of childcare, expectations of homeschooling placed on working parents and the irrelevance of processes and balances we’ve spent so much time cultivating for ourselves.

This call is an interactive hour where Joan C. Williams and former Pillsbury Chair & CEO Mary Cranston answer questions directly from our members around immediate workplace challenges that have arisen, as well as concerns as we look forward. Some of the challenges discussed are:

  • Telecommuting
    How do you set your employees working from home up for success? Are you circulating guidelines for successful telecommuting or putting establishing requirements? How are you communicating new norms and offering clarity?
  • Caregiving, homeschool & childcare
    How are you dealing with the fact that some of your employees are being expected to homeschool, or are without child or eldercare? Have you noticed this affecting men and women differently? Is there any way that you can weigh in productively?
  • HR & management in times of crisis
    What are the new responsibilities of managers? Is this a time for flexibility or micromanagement? How can managers and HR offer support to employees and acknowledge their anxiety? What should the messaging be from HR? Should managers be adjusting their expectations given ongoing stressors?
  • How can WLE help support you?
    Would it be helpful for us to offer a webinar around these challenges to your employees? We’d love to talk through how we can support you during this challenging time.

Materials:
COVID-19 for Managers Resource Guide

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