Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 41 seconds

HR Deals With Delta Variant Wrecking Return To Pre-Covid Times  

The delta variant of the coronavirus is wrecking employers’ plans for a return to a pre-pandemic workplace with human resources teams scrambling once again to figure out alternative plans.

covid 19 4922384 640smallEven as more employers are mandating that returning employees get vaccinated and wear masks in the office, they are also pushing back return dates as they rejigger plans amid the much more contagious COVID-19 strand.

“We have now put a pause on that and said, ‘Hey, let’s put it out until October and keep an eye on what’s going on,’” Cheryl Johnson, chief human resources officer for software company Paylocity, tells Human Resource Executive. “The delta variant is something myself and the senior leaders are keeping a very, very close eye on.”

The Schaumburg, IL-headquartered company is among a large number of firms that have had to reconsider carefully crafted return-to-office schedules over the last few weeks. Many of these employers had set September as that return-date, but a silver lining is that HR’s experience in managing remote staff for more than a year gives them a game plan for moving forward.

Google moved back its return date from September to October, while Facebook decided to hold off until January of next year. Meanwhile, Twitter in July decided to shut down its offices in New York and San Francisco that it had just reopened and will delay other office reopenings. Apple also moved back its return-to-office work date for its employees to January or beyond due to the delta variant, even as CEO Tim Cook told his 137,000 global workers that they’d be back in the offices in early September, Forbes reports.

Apple, which has never been a fan of remote work, had envisioned that its workers would report to their office locations three days a week and work remotely two days. But the company also is concerned about the potential legal blowback as well as damage to its brand if its employees come down with COVID-19.

As they did last year, employers are basing adjustments to their in-person work policies on guidance from the CDC and their local health officials, says Traci Fiatte, CEO, professional and staffing at Randstad US. “Top companies are embracing agility when developing return-to-work plans in the midst of changing health guidelines. Companies should consider surveying employees to determine their priorities and comfort levels about in-person work,” Fiatte says. “Leaders should also frequently communicate return-to-work plans to provide employees with the most up-to-date information.”

Just as employers were starting to breath a sigh of relief with the vaccine pushout and prospect of no longer having to worry about shutdowns, delta has struck hard especially for the many who still remain unvaccinated, NPR reports. Further complicating future return plans is how fully vaccinated people can still spread COVID-19 due to the delta variant.

"This is a Rubik's Cube with a thousand colors on each side," says David Lewis, CEO of human resources consulting practice, OperationsInc. ”There just continue to be a lot more questions than answers.”

Ford and General Motors, which have recalled their workers back to plants, have reinstated mask requirements. Walmart, for its part, expressed its frustration to employees in a recent company memo. "As a country, vaccination options have been available for months, but, unfortunately, because so many people have chosen not to receive it, we've left ourselves more vulnerable to variants," Walmart executives told its U.S. staff in the memo.

Credit Suisse has requested all non-vaccinated U.S. employees to work from home starting Sept. 7, while it pushed back its full return-to-office date to Oct. 18 for those who are vaccinated, Reuters reports. “As concerns increase around the country regarding the delta variant, we continue to strongly encourage all staff to get a COVID-19 vaccination and keep apprised of the latest updates to mask and physical distancing requirements in your area,” the global lender informed its U.S. employees in a memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by the firm.

A major lobby group for retailers likely echoes how many employers feel about their inability to do much to return to normal as new coronavirus cases continue to shoot up in certain parts of the country and undermine their members' efforts to do business, NPR reports. “It is truly unfortunate that mask recommendations have returned,” the National Retail Federation recently noted, “when the surest known way to reduce the threat of the virus is widespread vaccination.”

Read 1060 times
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Visit other PMG Sites:

PMG360 is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal data we collect from our subscribers/agents/customers/exhibitors and sponsors. On May 25th, the European's GDPR policy will be enforced. Nothing is changing about your current settings or how your information is processed, however, we have made a few changes. We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to make it easier for you to understand what information we collect, how and why we collect it.