Amazon is stepping up its efforts to make sure employees aren’t coming to work if they are sick. In addition to warehouse workers, Amazon also plans to check the temperatures of employees at Whole Foods.
“Amazon is taking greater steps to protect warehouse workers following weeks of public outcry. In a blog post on Thursday, Dave Clark, who runs Amazon’s retail operations, said the company will start taking employees’ temperatures when they report to work and supply them with face masks,” writes Annie Palmer of CNBC. “Temperature checks began last Sunday at select sites in the U.S. and will now begin to roll out to Amazon’s entire operations network and footprint of Whole Foods Stores in the U.S. and Europe by early next week, Clark said. Anyone who registers a fever over 100.4 will be told to go home and will only be allowed to return after they’ve gone three days without a fever, he added.”
Goldman Sachs Foresees ‘Fastest Recovery in History’ After Pandemic Subsides
Goldman Sachs has revised its GDP forecast for 2020 downward, but foresees a 19 percent rebound in the third quarter, resulting in a fast recovery, according to CNBC.
“For the full year, Goldman forecasts a 6.2% decline in GDP, which also would be worse than anything the nation has seen going back to the Great Depression. The second-quarter plunge would be more than triple the previous low of 10% set in the first quarter of 1958. The Great Recession low of 8.4% came in the fourth quarter of 2008. A sharp rebound, though, is expected to follow,” writes Jeff Cox of CNBC.
Apple Asks Retail Workers to Help With Remote Tech Support
Here’s another example of how companies are refocusing the roles of employees to cope with the pandemic: Apple is asking some of its retail workers to pitch in as temporary tech support staff.
“Apple Inc. is asking retail store employees to temporarily become remote technical support staff while stores remain closed,” writes Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. “A subset of retail staff are participating in the program to become work-from-home AppleCare employees so the company has enough workers to handle customer requests.”
I find this a fascinating example of how companies find innovative ways to pivot and alter course rapidly in difficult circumstances.
“The program is one of several changes to Apple’s operations as it adjusts to the global health crisis. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant closed its 458 stores outside of mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong earlier in March to help curb the spread of Covid-19,” Gurman writes. “Nearly all of Apple’s global corporate employees, including engineers, are working from home, causing some product delays and the need for staff to adjust to the new reality.”
Tech and Science Accelerate Innovation Processes
A fascinating phenomenon is occurring as researchers look for ways to accelerate the pace of their effort to combat the pandemic. Many of the traditional rivalries and turf wars that had slowed progress in the past have been discarded – at least temporarily – as scientists and technology firms collaborate to fight the coronavirus and its impact.
“While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt,” write Matt Apuzzo and David D. Kirkpatrick in the New York Times. “Normal imperatives like academic credit have been set aside. Online repositories make studies available months ahead of journals. Researchers have identified and shared hundreds of viral genome sequences. More than 200 clinical trials have been launched, bringing together hospitals and laboratories around the globe.”
On both a personal and a professional level, I find news such as this reassuring and uplifting. In difficult times such as these, unselfish collaboration will be absolutely essential.
Best Practices Emerge for Virtual Meetings
As leaders, we’ve been forced to pivot and adapt rapidly to the new realities of doing business. Virtual meetings are no longer optional; they are the new normal.
Here is a quick roundup of extremely useful articles from the Harvard Business Review on the topic of remote work and virtual meetings:
