I’d gone back and forth about doing another post about masks, but when the title came to mind, I couldn’t resist! Recently, the CDC updated their mask guidance and recommended that vaccinated individuals wear masks indoors if “in an area of substantial or high transmission.” With the rise in the Delta variant and the low vaccination rates in some areas around the country, it won’t surprise me if more changes come.
Now, you’re starting to see changes in company policies as well. For example, starting last week, Publix employees are required to wear a mask again, regardless of vaccination status.
While I’m seeing a growing interest in mandating vaccines, we’ll save that topic for another time.
Right now, we’ll focus on the mask part. You should absolutely abide by CDC guidance. Those who aren’t vaccinated should wear masks. If you’re in an area of “substantial or high transmission,” everyone wears a mask. You could also maintain a policy that everyone wears masks – period. It might be an easier route to go, depending on the dynamic. [This post goes into more detail about how to apply “no mask” guidelines for your vaccinated employees and/or customers.] You have a responsibility to create a safe working environment and to care for the health and wellbeing of those around you (and their families).
Now that we have that detail settled, let’s look at this topic from a broader perspective. You have a topic that people feel VERY strongly about. No one wants to be involved in a showdown about masks. There’s constant change in guidance, leading to a lot of questions and confusion. Entities and leaders are responding in various ways, so there’s a lot of comparison and “why don’t we do things like they do?”
How can you guide your employees through this maze of a season?
Keep policies simple.
There’s so much information available at the touch of a button, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s nice to be informed, but you also find a lot of conflicting strong opinions. Employees don’t want to have to wade through a lengthy, complex policy at work as well. So, keep things as simple as you can. Whatever you decide for your policy to be, aim for it to be straightforward. As few caveats as possible. (Bonus – this comes in handy for you as well when you need to make changes.)
As part of your communication, explain the “why” behind your decision. The more you communicate your interest in caring for the health and wellbeing of your employees, the better policies will be received.
Make decisions for now.
You will need to make policy decisions and communicate them proactively. There’s no getting around that part. But one thing COVID is teaching us is to become more comfortable making decisions that are for the time-being. We (hopefully) won’t be dealing with this forever. But we are dealing with it right now, and we need policies that work for now based on what we know at this point.
I think this is a good exercise for all of us. Over time, we created this dynamic where work was a place where policies never changed. They were created and then lasted forever. Sure, we’d talk about changing them and updating the handbook. But it didn’t happen often. I speak from personal experience using policies that were 10+ years old.
As much as we tended to complain about that, I think there was a certain amount of stability that came from that as well. Yes, some policies were frustrating and outdated. But everyone knew what they were. Whatever it was, that was it. And, if you were a decision-maker, you could make a decision once and check it off your list. No need to revisit it a few months or years down the road.
The tide is changing. There’s more of a need to be able to make policies and decisions based on current needs and circumstances, without promising they’ll be forever. It will take some time to get adjusted as we miss the “stability” of the former years. But the more we do it, the easier it will become for everyone. And I think we’ll discover that we create much better, happier workplaces in the process. Which leads us to the next point.
Revisit decisions and adapt more quickly.
For the last year, we’ve been forced to make decisions quickly, adapt, and be flexible. As difficult as that has been, I think it’s also helped us realize that it’s possible! Important decisions CAN be made quickly and efficiently! And we can be flexible and adapt as needed! Sure, you might not have gotten everything perfect the first time. But that probably turned out pretty okay, didn’t it? You fixed what needed fixing and moved on.
This is such a great quality to carry on, whether with these mask guidelines or anything else going forward. As circumstances change, decisions can change. Again, this may feel unstable at first. But it’s really the way we operate in so many other areas of our lives. Don’t like your cable bill? Look into all the streaming options. Your child isn’t enjoying one sport anymore? Look into another. A new cleaning supply comes out? Try it to see if it works (or maybe that’s just me).
We revisit decisions all the time in our personal lives. And I think we’re starting to expect that at work as well – even if it means we don’t feel the same kind of stability we felt before. Stability can be found in other aspects of employment – like having good pay and benefits and having a healthy environment.
Welcome feedback and additional information. It won’t always mean policies need to be changed, but sometimes it will. Be ready and willing to revisit decisions and policies on a regular basis. And be willing to be flexible and adapt as needed.
By putting these steps into practice, you’ll not only help guide your employees through this confusion but will also create a better, more effective decision-making environment going forward.
Photo credit: By Andrii Zastrozhnov / Canva
