Lockdown hustle: How to keep morale up with remote teams during the pandemic

By Sandiip Kapur

A committed workforce is one of the essential building blocks for all successful businesses. No company that has disgruntled workers can survive the corporate universe for long. It is up to the top level brass at any enterprise to keep its personnel cheerful and satisfied. Keeping one’s employees positive and dedicated goes a long way in cementing a company’s legacy in today’s dynamic business order. But this year has been different. The unprecedented emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed massive changes in the overall corporate landscape.

Businesses around the world have been forced into submission by the crippling effect of the novel coronavirus. Unprepared and unwary, a majority of companies have witnessed a severe financial backlash on account of the various lockdowns and pandemic-induced restrictions. India Inc also has witnessed its fair share of the tumultuous breakdown. Numerous organizations have incurred significant losses, budget cuts, lay-offs, and salary slashes. Worse still, there have been instances of companies closing shop and going defunct in the wake of the viral crisis. This has created immense pressure on the national economy due to the plummeting GDP and the increased unemployment rate.

Many others that managed to survive the initial ordeal had to make several changes in their operational structure to cope with the transformed business environment. Businesses had no option but to suddenly shift towards digital remote working. This has been challenging to say the least. It is unfortunate that those who could not embrace digital transition in event of the pandemic simply perished. Under such testing and turbulent times, the onus is on the employers to preserve the morale of their employees to keep their business up and running.