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Preparing for the Second Wave: Learning from Lockdown The Conference Board of Canada, 2 pages, August 13, 2020 Summary for Executives by Nancy Norton

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.

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.