Why An Employee Would Quit Your Company during COVID-19

It's no secret that company culture is important for retaining good employees. The COVID-19 pandemic has also put a large amount of stress on working parents, causing many to leave their jobs to take care of their kids who are schooling from home. According to new research from the Census Bureau, one fifth of working adults, mostly mothers, have chosen unemployment because the virus affected their available childcare choices. 

If you're wondering why an employee would quit your company, read on to learn how you can help them stay.

Flexible Work Arrangements

The Families and Work Institute recently released a report that looked into the challenges of work flexibility, both before and since the pandemic began. Even though some companies offered flexibility prior to the pandemic, most employees didn't feel supported by their supervisors or felt that their jobs were in jeopardy. The pandemic has now shifted some of these feelings, however, many employees still felt that asking for flexible work arrangements would put their job at risk. If you want to ensure your best employees stick around, consider flexible policies to get their work done from home or at different hours.

Health Insurance and Sick Leave

The COVID-19 virus seems to have a different affect on each individual. Some are asymptomatic, others may have a cough and fever, and still others may have to be hospitalized. Employers who wish to retain quality employees must ensure that their policies on sick leave are updated, responsive to the crisis and supportive of a positive outcome. Health insurance is also important, especially as the virus is transmitted easily within groups of people.  To keep your employees healthy and loyal, these items are necessary.

COVID-19 Testing As Part of Employment Background Checks

Safety and Disease Control

Earlier in the pandemic, Amazon came under fire for terminating an employee who called out unsafe conditions in the warehouse where he worked. These stories still persist and highlight the growing awareness of safe conditions in the workplace. For those employees who do work in an office, employers must consider safe policies to prevent the spread of infectious disease such as face coverings, social distancing requirements, travel restrictions and more. It's also important to listen to employees, and protect them from retaliation, if they do speak up about safety concerns.

COVID Testing

The question of reliable virus testing has been a hot topic since March of this year. As an employer, you can provide some peace of mind by providing COVID-19 testing for your employees. The test kits cost can be covered by the employer and sent to the employee or employer. Convenience and turnaround would be much less stressful, especially since the employer is working to keep employees safe. 

Since the pandemic began, employers and employees are facing new changes in the workplace. The onus is on the employer to help relieve some of the stress so that high quality, loyal employees want to stick around.