A Message on COVID-19 from WorkSTEPS Medical Director Dr. Ben Hoffman

Entering the Endemic: Focus on These Three Objectives

As you can imagine, we watch Covid-19 data pretty closely at WorkSTEPS, and in the past few weeks we’ve been relieved that the trends hoped for back in January have become reality. New cases are down dramatically across most of the US, hospitals are becoming less crowded with serious Covid-19 patients, and deaths have been dropping as well.

While global hot spots (including China and Hongkong) remain, in the US the combination of vaccines, effective treatments, and the protection offered by prior infection are ushering in the endemic phase of this crisis. In the endemic phase, the risk of serious illness and death exists, but at a level that doesn’t require societal interventions. Think: seasonal flu.

This is all good news, but…yes, there is a “but” …the risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19 persists for some, and it is possible that new dangerous and vaccine-evading variants could emerge, reigniting the pandemic. So, as we enter the endemic, businesses in the US should think of Covid-19 as they do many other business risks – as something to mitigate, monitor, and be prepared for in the event it becomes pressing.

Transitioning to endemic Covid-19, we recommend focusing on three objectives.

1. Continue Appropriate Health Protection Measures

The threat of Covid-19 is not gone, particularly for employees, contractors, or customers who are immunocompromised, or who live with / care for people who are immunocompromised. For the foreseeable future, companies should:

• Use county-level data to monitor and communicate the risk level in areas where your company operates.
• Educate employees about risks to people who are immunocompromised and steps immunocompromised people can take to protect themselves from infection and serious illness.
• Continue with pandemic-level ventilation practices.
• Provide access to high-quality N95 and KN95 masks and take steps to make sure people don’t feel stigmatized by their choice to wear a mask at work.
• Provide access to rapid tests and educate employees about when to use them.
• Continue to encourage and support Covid-19 vaccination and educate employees that “full vaccination” means “boosted.”

2. Improve Readiness for the Next Threat

Now is the best time for a candid evaluation of your organization’s response to the pandemic, and for applying lessons learned to preparation for a potential resurgence of this pandemic, or emergence of another threat. We recommend:

• Assemble a cross-functional team (medical, HR, operations, legal) to review questions like: What went right and wrong? What were you surprised by? Did parts of the organization do substantially better or worse than others, and what lessons can be learned from them?
• Critically evaluate the status of trust and communication in your organization – top-down, bottom-up, function-to-function, and across the workforce. Where did trust and communication hold up, and where did they break down? Where trust or communication is strained or broken, how can they be fortified or re-built?
• Build up an appropriate inventory of key supplies, such as high-quality masks and rapid tests.

3. Lift Morale and Mend Relationships

The relief you’re feeling is being felt by everyone. Capitalize on the change.

• Celebrate the return to normalcy.
• Recognize the people, departments, and vendor-partners that have played a key role in helping your company make it through.
• At all levels, communicate to remind / reinforce the company vision, mission, and values that unite employees. Remind employees of the critical work to be done, and the importance of working together.
• Identify opportunities for employees to work together in the community building homes, stocking food pantry shelves, responding to needs in Ukraine, etc. Reinforce a sense of common purpose to overwhelm divisions that may persist.

We have all been through a long and arduous trek. Sometimes the crisis has found us at our best; other times it’s brought out our worst. As the pandemic recedes, we need to remain aware of the threat, but not miss the opportunity to celebrate, be grateful, and take steps to mend what has been broken.

“The Brief” Continues

I’m happy to say that what began as “The Covid-19 Brief” will continue as simply “The Brief.” The pandemic has made clear what many of us have long known – that the health, safety and wellbeing of people has profound impacts on the productivity, resiliency, and prosperity of businesses. So, as we’ve done for the past two years, we commit to using this newsletter to provide you with information and insights you can use to improve the health of your people and your business.

As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas. Please click here to share comments and suggestions for topics you’d like us to address.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ben Hoffman

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