MAKE THE CONNECTION

Lindsay Pietenpol, assistant editor 1 WORK FROM HOME CULTURE Today's hybrid work model certainly has its benefits-flexible hours, reduced costs and increased productivity. [...]it's a bit depressing to hear so much angst over working from home this year. [...]there has been active resistance to returning to the office at all in some of the best-known organizations in the world. Madaline Lodwich Regulatory affairs specialist, operations Buffalo Grove, IL LEARN MORE ASQ's Team and Workplace Excellence Forum provides learning and recognition opportunities to help people, teams and organizations achieve excellence.

Moving Through Crisis Mode

According to Stanley, when faced with major disruption, processes come second. According to Mesaglio, getting teams together to brainstorm additional ideas creates lasting cohesion. The event will provide insight on: * Individual value at any level of an organization. * Keys to leading with acceptance and adoption. * Methods of inclusivity and consideration to expand your scope of thinking. * Techniques to adapt to change-anticipated or not.

Full Speed Ahead

According to a New England Journal of Medicine article, a two-dose application of the vaccine is 95% effective in people 16 years of age or older.6 In comparison, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is 99.7% effective, the inactive polio vaccine is 99% effective, and the chickenpox vaccine is 85 to 90% effective.7 Safety Many people are asking how a safe, successful vaccine could be developed in one-tenth of the time it typically takes to develop a vaccine. [...]no safety concerns were identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.8 In very basic terms, vaccine safety is determined by the absence of multiple adverse events during clinical trials. According to Dr. Robert Chen, a vaccine safety expert and director of the Brighton Collaboration, a global nonprofit vaccine safety research organization, the same safety process was followed with the COVID-19 vaccine as any other vaccine.

The Times They Are a-Changin'

According to the freelancing platform Upwork, people who used to commute to work have saved $2,000 since mid-March. Since the pandemic started, working from home has saved U.S. workers more than 89 million hours each week5 "Now that working remotely has become the new norm, and more people enjoy flexible routines that provide a better work-life balance, employees will likely seek organizations that provide the option to work remotely," said Ginger Dhaliwal, cofounder and CPO of Upflex, a network of flexible workspaces.4 More digital The pandemic also has significantly sped up digital transformation efforts- particularly for organizations that have a substantial remote workforce. According to the WEF, about one-third of employers are using digital tools to connect employees and create a sense of community and belonging.5 "The emphasis will be placed on creating culture and enhancing healthy engagement among employees to achieve desired business outcomes," Dhaliwal said. According to a recent report, "The Impact of the Current Economy on Wage Growth," by PayScale, a compensation software and data company, it is uncommon for organizations to reduce employee pay during a recession, opting instead to lay people off.

Reassess, Reevaluate, Reskill

According to sociologist Tracy Brower, responsiveness and accessibility are critical attributes for leaders. According to a recent Reuters analysis, more than 25% of large organizations plan to reduce spending by downsizing their office space,9 and many organizations, such as Google and Facebook, aren't planning to bring workers back to the office until 2021.10 People should be knowledgeable of common remote work tools, such as video and web conferencing, document sharing and project collaboration." According to a 2017 McKinsey Global Institute study, automation and AI will force about 375 million workers to reskill or find new jobs)2 The pandemic has just made the issue more urgent.

Cybersecurity In the Time of COVID

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 29% of Americans worked from home at least some of the time before the pandemic.3 Now, that number is closer to twothirds, according to Gallup data from April.4 The suddenness with which this all happened has drastically complicated cybersecurity and increased cyber risks. According to Deloitte, there were more than 400,000 COVID-19-related spam emails just between March 13-26, many of which targeted employees about relief payments.7 Employees must understand their role in keeping the organization cyber secure, and cybersecurity teams must work with leadership to communicate and train employees on best practices, cybersecurity policies and incident response plans. According to an analysis by the New York Times, people are collaborating on social media sites and message boards to plan Zoom hacks.

Kinks and Broken Links

"The retail trade, which functions to retain the lowest possible inventory outside of the actual brick-and-mortar outlet, is beginning to experience stock-outs," said Chuck Franzetta, CEO of Franzetta & Associates, a business management consulting firm in Pennsylvania. "4 General Motors, for example, has had to airlift parts for its North American truck production, and Fiat Chrysler is looking into alternate suppliers.5 "Automotive is a capital-intensive industry that attempts to operate without major stockpiles of parts, making it especially vulnerable to the coronavirus' spread beyond China," wrote CNBC reporter Michael Wayland. According to the same survey, more than 44% of respondents said they don't have plans to handle a supply disruption with China. [...]according to survey respondents in China, they are operating with only 56% of their workforce and are running at 50% capacity.8 "The bottom line is we should brace for a major effect on manufacturing worldwide," said Laurie Harbour, president of Harbour Results, a business management consulting firm in Michigan.

ALL HANDS ON DECK

According to Siare Engineering's chief executive, Gianluca Preziosa, automakers are in a unique position to help ventilator manufacturers because both industries rely on electronics and pneumatics.4 FCA is also helping make PPE. According to FCA CEO Mike Manley, the company is aiming to produce 1 million masks per month.5 Another organization helping with the PPE shortage is Stormy Kromer, a Michigan outdoor clothing company. According to Jiang, companies are getting creative with their marketing tactics and sales, many of which are quarantine themed.