One of the many things that need to be addressed in PYM as we are all coping with uncertainty around Coronavirus is caring for the health and safety and productivity of staff. After some excellent brainstorming with a small group, a “Preparedness Plan” is in place.
The plan addresses four key areas. The first area is defining the circumstances under which staff will work from home. In general, we’ll be following the guidance of the school district in which the PYM office is located and the school districts in which staff live. Of course, any staff person who has any symptoms of cold, flu, congestion, or fever will play it safe and work from home.
The second area is preparation to ensure that the staff has what they need so they can work effectively from home. This includes laptops, secure internet access, and increased communications tools. It also plans for how staff will work with their supervisors and teams and whether their goals or responsibilities need to shift during this period.
We have a few travel restrictions, including not going to places where tracking in contagion would be dangerous such as retirement communities and working from home for 14 days if one has traveled to a place where there are school or municipal closings.
The final area of the plan focuses on employment practices. Canceled events and/or work at home requirements will not result in a loss of wages for anyone. Staff with fewer than three weeks of accrued sick time will be granted additional hours if they get sick during this time.
While the staff is managing the business as usual they are also developing contingencies and Plan B’s.
In the meantime, the CDC, and others offer guidance on ways to deal with COVID-19, including valuable tips to keep everyone as safe as possible. We realize you will have questions about our response and about COVID-19. We are working to provide updated information on the website.