Flow Jamaica extends work from home for 2020

Flow Jamaica is set to continue its Work From Home (WFH) protocol for the rest of 2020. 

This, as many Jamaicans return to office following the expiration of the Government’s Work From Home Order.  Over 70% of Flow’s 1200+ workforce has been working from home since the Government issued orders for schools to be closed on March 13.

“The traditional or conventional way of looking at work has had to evolve all across the world as organisations, both large and small, deal with the new normal of existing with COVID-19.  This pandemic has taught us to be even more agile and responsive as we safeguard the health and well-being of our team members, while supporting their needs as well,” said Stephen Price, Country Manager in a recent digital town hall with employees.

Flow employees will be able to choose when they return to office and which days they will work, in consultation with their direct supervisor.

According to Phadra Saunders, People Director, “We’re mindful of the concerns our team members have for their family, whether children, elderly parents or high-risk spouses or relatives. So even while we’re in the process of preparing to reopen our offices, our team members are being supported in their decision to continue working from home.  Our exception is our high-risk employees – those over 60 years of age or anyone with an underlying medical condition that makes them particularly susceptible to COVID-19.  These include respiratory conditions, immunocompromised systems, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, etc.).  Those employees are required continue working from home.”

The decision by the company’s leadership team was further informed by feedback from their team members who were polled on when they would be ready to return to the office and how many days they would choose to work from home.  45% of the company’s team members indicated a timeline of September to return to work with 32% selecting January 2021. For those opting to return when the offices reopen, they will be allowed a maximum of two days in office.

“We’ve seen managers’ trust and confidence in their team members increase and amazingly, we’ve also seen an increase in the productivity of our employees. Bold ideas are being pitched and innovative solutions are being implemented for our customers.  We’re still very mindful of the need to keep team engagement going and have introduced various digital platforms for increased collaboration and interaction with our teams,” Saunders continued.

“WFH is now our model going forward, and we’ve been having various support sessions to help our team navigate this new normal of balancing work with supervising home schooling etc. We’ve had digital counselling sessions, fitness and wellness sessions with certified experts and even our annual church service was done digitally.  The critical thing for us is leading with compassion as we consider the demands on our team members while working from home,” Price added.

Flow currently has a team focused on getting its various office spaces ready for reopening.  That team is also ensuring that the appropriate signage, safety and social distancing protocols are in place.

Already, the company has enhanced its sanitising stations across all its locations, reviewed cleaning protocols with its sanitisation and cleaning contractors and stocked up on required personal protective items.  The company is also leveraging technology to digitally manage physical shared spaces to ensure compliance with physical distancing and restricted capacity measures.  Training is underway for its safety teams and several physical spaces are being adapted.  Thermal devices will be used at all locations and its corporate office will be closed for one weekday for deep cleaning in addition to the enhanced cleaning and sanitising activities throughout the week.

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