Question

Why would a company try to keep their employees working during the Coronavirus pandemic? then replay to these two people did you agree with them or not.

1- Necessity to Business Survival

For some businesses, even the non-essential ones, keeping employees working is still necessary on some level in order to keep the business running. For example, I work at Dillard's and even though all of our stores are shut down, and employees were told we were not going to be working, online ordering is still available. No one thought about the fact that since nearly every retail store is shut down there was going to be a major flux of online orders that managers alone were not prepared to fill and ship. The company ended up having to call several employee associates in order to come in to cover the amount of orders we had so we could still keep our promise to our customers and remain operational even online. COVID - 19 has changed the way companies have to do business in the interim and keeping employees working is sometimes the only way to make that feasible and keep the business alive. Without this, it is possible that many companies would have to shut down for good during this time without any revenue streams.

2. Avoidance of Future Labor Costs

Companies that have had to furlough workers or temporarily lay them off run the risk that those employees may not come back. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential businesses have increased their hiring in this time in order to keep up with demand. Employees that have lost their jobs, permanently or temporarily, may start looking into those jobs and may find a position/company they prefer, or may even use this time to look for other positions within their field for when this pandemic is over. Companies don't want to loose skilled, valuable, and trained employees during this time, so many companies are doing whatever they can to keep their employees working so that they don't loose these employees and have to spend time and money on interviewing, training, and on boarding later after this crisis is over. Additionally, many companies will have massive orders to fill after this is over in order to finish orders that couldn't be sent out due to the virus, and this will require already trained employees. Having to find and train new employees during that time would be an even greater hassle that companies are looking to avoid.

Answer 1

Answer: One reason why a company may try to keep its employees working during the COVID-19 pandemic is for their mental and physical well being. It has been observed in many parts of the globe that the people who are not getting a chance to go out for a long period of time are facing psychological disorders like depression and anxiety. The restriction of physical movement is also created health related issues in many people. Therefore there are many companies that have arranged a work from home format for their employees or are operating on rotating duty basis where few employees are called every day. This helps the employees to keep busy and avoid such situations.

I agree with the point that it is essential for the survival for the businesses that they carry out their operations. Even the essential supplies are dependent on other businesses that are considered non essential. Hence if everything is closed then not only it will result in a huge economic crisis but will also affect the essential supplies.

I also agree with the fact that if the businesses are completely shut then they may experience high labor costs in the future and also shortage of workforce. They may lose skilled and talent workforce that will be very costly to develop again. Hence it is required that the companies keep operating at some level.