In times of economic downturn, employers may choose to furlough employees vs. laying off employees, but what does it mean to be furloughed?

COVID-19 has its own set of physical symptoms, but with 1 in 5 Americans suffering from some form of mental illness, this period of uncertainty is not the time to let mental health take a back seat.

A recent study shows that nearly 7 in 10 employees report that the COVID-19 pandemic is the most stressful time of their entire professional career. These high stress levels are reflected in the increase of prescriptions filled in mid-March with 78% of all anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and anti-insomnia prescriptions being filled as new prescriptions.  

Many employees around the world have made the overnight transition to working remote. Some employers show concern about maintaining employee productivity while other employers fear the opposite reality- job burnout.

Working remote can be challenging for those that are not accustomed to the lifestyle and individuals often have a difficult time separating work-life from home-life, as they now feel that they're "always on the clock".

On March 18, 2020 the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law. This legislation expands FMLA and Paid Sick Leave benefits for most organizations with under 500 employees and will take effect on April 1, 2020.

Check out the infographic below for a breakdown on this new law and how it impacts you and your people.

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, a lot of people that regularly go into an office are now being asked to work from home. Transforming your home into an office may not be as easy as you think, especially for those that don't have a lot of experience working in a remote environment.

Here are a few things  that you can do to help yourself stay productive: 

As concern about the current COVID-19 outbreak grows, PeopleGuru is doing our very best to keep everyone healthy and safe in the workplace while also minimizing the disruptions to our day-to-day operations. However, there are a few things to keep in mind during this unprecedented time:

Did you know that 1 in 10 phishing emails succeed?

It can be really difficult to differentiate between a phishing email and a real email. Hackers study patterns and use technology to help imitate people making emails looks like they’re coming from someone you know or trust.

Although there is no way to completely stop the attacks, organizations are investing in software and providing training to employees to help mitigate the risk associated with phishing schemes. 

According to The U.S. Transgender Survey, there are currently 1.4 million transgender American adults, and of this population, 33% wish to not be assigned to either the female or male gender and consider themselves gender-nonbinary.

When it comes to compassion in the workplace, some may cringe, as they believe that opening up and showing kindness or “friending” team members is a recipe for disaster and it’s best to keep work life and personal life separate.

But let’s face it- you spend 40+ hours a week with these people. Would a little compassion really be the worst thing?

The new decade will bring new distractions for HR, but HR Gurus will need to maintain the focus on keeping the human in human resources and staying up to speed with the latest trends that cultivate culture, boost people productivity, and increase employee engagement.