COVID SECURED WORKPLACE: Preparing for the New Normal (I)

Plagues, epidemics, pandemics, etc have been a part of human history from time immemorial. They have existed long before these modern times, and have devastating effects, leading to multiple loss of lives.  In several parts of the world indeed with the fact that the world has now become a “global village,” now disaster would more […]

Plagues, epidemics, pandemics, etc have been a part of human history from time immemorial.

They have existed long before these modern times, and have devastating effects, leading to multiple loss of lives.  In several parts of the world indeed with the fact that the world has now become a “global village,” now disaster would more easily affect the world in several ways and relatively quickly and there will be attendant merits and demerits of this development arising from globalization.

A quick reflection of current situation of today’s world where there’s a population explosion in the world, with the resultant effect of people, growing disproportionately to static land mass. In addition, these people migrate to some economic zones to enable them to live a better standard/quality of life. These economic zones become choked with mankind and animals with fewer green areas; thus creating an atmosphere where infections and diseases, thrive.

We shall review the current situation starting with a brief background on the history of a pandemic, the need for personal hygiene in order to stay safe and would conclude with steps needed to be taken by organisations and families so that our houses and workplaces could be secured and we adapt to the new normal environment and lifestyle.

The Antonine Plague (AD 165-180), Justinian Plague (AD 541 – 542), Japanese Smallpox Pandemic (AD 735-737), Black Death Epidemic (1346 – 1353), New World Smallpox (1520-onwards), Great Plague of London (1665 – 1666), The Cholera Pandemic (1817-1923), Flu Pandemic (1889 – 1890), Russian Flu (1889-1890), Yellow Fever 1800s, Asian Flu (1957-1958), Hong Kong Flu (1968-1970), Spanish Flu (1918 – 1920), AIDS Pandemic (1981 – to date), Swine Flu (2009 – 2010), SARS (2002-2003), Ebola Epidemic (2014 – 2016), MERS (2015-date), COVID – 19 (2019 – to date), are all diseases that have plagued mankind over the course of time. Some of the constant characteristics of these diseases are: Transmitted from animals to humans; The causative bacteria/virus thrive where there are large numbers of people, travel of humans from location to location, increases the spread of the virus and thus, the cause of Loss of lives in multitudes. Quarantine / Isolation is usually required to limit the spread of the virus.  Indeed, most of the diseases are contagious i.e easily transmitted via contacts hence the need for isolation, social distancing and use of personal protective equipment.

In some of these cases, scientists and medical experts have been able to research and develop preventive vaccines or treatment drugs that have successfully eradicated or greatly reduced the effect and spread of some of these diseases like cholera, polio, smallpox and flu. However, there are some which have no preventive vaccine yet; they include, Ebola and COVID – 19.

Essentially, the COVID-19 is believed to be spread through viruses that are in droplets of cough and sneeze. Thus, an individual can contact it, if in close contact with an infected person, or if an individual touches an infected surface (from droplets of cough and sneeze).

Further, this pandemic plaguing the world is so infectious, lethal and fatal, such that countries have had to issue stay at home orders and close their borders to: limit the spread, reduce the loss of human lives and prevent the collapse of the health care system. The ripple effect of the stay at home order is that businesses/industries have had to shut down; economies are declining in terms of productivity and growth; citizens are not working and thus, the majority are not earning income to sustain themselves, and have used up their savings, if any.  Indeed, a hunger virus is beginning to be imminent!

The healthcare sector is not the only sector that faces challenges in this period.  The challenges of earning a living, the challenges of transportation, and the challenges of the provision of a decent and secured work environment are a few other challenges occasioned by the pandemic.

With the stay at home order imposed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, and indeed, several other countries, employees are faced with a complex set of challenges. These includes:

Striking a balance between work and parenting: Where an employee has to Work From Home (WFH), one has to be able to achieve that with minimal disturbance from the kids (if any) or other members of the family. If you have older kids, this may not create a major problem, but with younger kids, one would have a situation where both the work and the kids are clamouring for attention. It is good for the employee to determine how best this will work within typical office hours, and communicate availability to the employer.

Job Loss: According to Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, global employment as at early April 2020 (circa 8th April), stood at 190 million, from a global workforce of over 2.7 billion.

We will pause here to continue this very important subject matter next week God willing.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend while we meet again next week.

“Good things never come from comfort zone. If we want success, we must get comfortable being uncomfortable.”