"Glass Employees": 2020 Pandemic Hiring Challenge

Hiring has always been challenging. This pandemic has changed hiring, and the candidates whom we may hire. We have created: "Glass Employees". These candidates have been through hell. These Glass Employees can shatter, when put under pressure, at anytime, and some may take many others down with them. Can we help these employees put their pieces back together, or hold them together with glue of a community? Glass Employees have always had crazy home lives, and things that concerned them outside of the workplace, but have managed through and thrived at work. This pandemic has changed many lives, and turned hearts and minds to glass, ready to crack and shatter, at a moments notice.

Investing in a mentally healthy workplace, after this pandemic makes sense, and will be critical for every company. Many supports have been taken away from families. Work -Life issues will be a challenge. We do not have four legs holding up our tables, any longer. Many of us have no supports at all. How do we work together, after the pandemic, to retain these Glass Employees?

Empathy From All Managers And Peers

The Glass Employee's experience has changed permanently. The world has become a lockdown, in their eyes. Some Glass Employees, have continued to work, but others have been home and alone. Some employees have been laid -off for the first time in their lives due to no fault of their own. They have been forcibly held hostage at home by this pandemic, and their emotions have become fragile. They have been surrounded by the same four walls or windows, and the same beginning and end of the day, for months. They have become very easy to break mentally. The Glass Employees have had a mundane routine, with nothing to look forward to, and lack of sensory experiences, and hugs, is something no employee will ever forget. Many may bring this new mental challenge into the workplace. Some Glass Employees, when cracked, may get PTSD from this experience, and have fight or flight moments. Understand that behind the smiles, many Glass Employees, at home, may have very different lives, and the tiny cracks may grow larger.

What can we do?

Positive Communication And Judgement -Free Workplaces

Glass Employees have been in their homes with young children, forced to become math teachers, caregivers, bakers, playmates, and continue to work and produce at the same time. Some Glass Employees have been at home while taking care of sick parents, dogs, teen children, mood swings, and now have spouses who may be unemployed. Some stand in line at the food banks. Some families do not have computers, for themselves or their students, when the world shut down. They may be angry or fearful. Some Glass Employees are just raw, and have had to deal with sudden deaths, burials, and no closure. Some Glass Employees have depression, or their spouses or children are going through major depressions. How can we help?

Highlight The Positives. Promote people.

Positive moments make us all smile, and laugh. We forget about our stresses for a moment.

On the other hand, solitary confinement can be used as a torture strategy, and can cause anxiety, sweating, hypertension, depression, and can severely affect the brain after 72 hours. Some Glass Employees feel that we have just been through this torture, or are still going through it. Mentally it is a challenge for them to wake up. Although Glass Employees are able to Zoom, text, and chat, many have not hugged people, in months. They miss sensory experiences, families, emotional supports, social gatherings, and friendships. Glass Employees will need encouragement, and happy moments to look forward to. Include them in innovation and sensory programs. Ask them to create and innovate. Call Glass Employees up, versus email. Do not screen out Glass Employees in interviews, with great skills who may not interview as well, after this pandemic. They can do the position, but they may not be able to communicate it as well. Be open to try new employees, new skills, and programs. Be open to forgive. Be open to press the do-over button. Keep your eyes open in interviews, and look for the Glass Employees on your teams now. We can all be the Glass Employee on any day. This has not been easy on any of us around the globe. Who will be the first to crack and shatter? Who already is? Maybe the Glass Employee is you.

If you are interested in looking for work or know someone who is out of work, please "follow me" or Connect here on LinkedIn, or DM me for an innovative solution.