Preparing for the Second Wave: Learning from Lockdown
The Conference Board of Canada, 2 pages,
August 13, 2020
Summary for Executives
by
Nancy Norton
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Canadian employers are using lessons learned from the recent lockdown to determine how to protect employees and keep their business running during a potential second wave of the virus.
Document Highlights
- Organizations had to adapt in various ways during the recent pandemic lockdown and are drawing on lessons learned to plan for a potential second wave and ensuing forced closure. The Conference Board gathered information about how organizations were coping during lockdown.
- With 4.7 millions Canadians working from home, most organizations provided employees with accommodations to balance work and family.
- To control costs, about one-third of organizations reduced the size of their workforce temporarily or permanently, and some also cut pay or implemented hiring freezes. However, some employers offered pay premiums to non-unionized front-line workers during the lockdown.
- Employee benefits were left largely untouched and some, like paid sick leave, were even augmented.
- As employees began returning to workplaces in May, new safety measures and guidelines have been put in place to protect them. These measures are widely viewed as the new normal.
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