Hurricanes give you plenty of warning before they hit land and wreak havoc. It’s not like an earthquake where you get no warning. There have been warnings with Hurricane Ian, including evacuation orders. You should pay attention.
People should follow these orders, and safety should always come first-ahead of profits. But, some people don’t think through their actions or are focused more on the bottom line than on keeping their employees alive and safe and acknowledging that even if the storm doesn’t destroy the whole town, evacuating is a traumatic experience all on its own.
Here are two mistakes leaders made.
1. Say the media is scaremongering.
The Washington Post reports on PostcardMania CEO Joy Gendusa, who told her employees that the storm was going to be a “nothingburger” and that while she wanted employees to “feel safe and comfortable,” she also wanted everyone to keep producing.
Why? Because the media exaggerates these storms: Gendusa said, “And when it turns into nothing I don’t want it to be like, ‘Great, we all stopped producing because of the media and [thought] maybe that it was going to be terrible.’”
She’s not wrong. Some media outlets hype weather forecasts for ratings. But hurricanes are a real threat, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you want employees to keep working through the storm, don’t tell them to keep working through it because it might not be as bad as the media.
Gendusa also told people that their building was safe and to go ahead and bring the family and pets to shelter while the employees worked.
Offering your office as a shelter is nice if it could truly serve as one. Telling people to keep working while being concerned about the hurricane destroying their houses? That’s a lack of emotional intelligence. PostcardMedia did end up closing its office and offering employees paid time off.
2. Tell employees to make sure you bring all your equipment with you as you evacuate.
This unnamed company (I reached out to the TikToker “tallandhandsome” and did not hear back) wanted employees to take all their work equipment to the shelter and work from there.
Companies in Tampa are telling their staff to set up their work-from-home items in evacuation shelters pic.twitter.com/9gQEtY9WJF
-Marjorie Gaylor Queen ️ (@Tim_Tweeted) September 28, 2022
They could choose PTO, but any company that tells you to go ahead and prioritize your work items over your family safety is off their rocker.
Sure, if you have a large van, no kids, pets, or essential family items you want to preserve, plus you can fit all your clothes and necessities in your car, throw in your computer, monitor, and headset. No problem.
If you’re sheltering at your parents’ inland house, then sure, maybe you can work-as you are biting your nails, wondering if your house will be destroyed, get some work done. If you’re in an actual shelter with hundreds of other storm refugees, does this company really think you’ll have the space, wifi, and quiet necessary to set up your company equipment and work? The chances of exclusive use of a functioning outlet are pretty slim.
3. How you should treat work in an emergency
If you work in a hospital or other emergency services, you are absolutely right to want your employees to work during an emergency. But you should have plans in place, and your employees choose that line of work, knowing this is part of the job.
Otherwise? When your employees need to evacuate, they don’t need to work. You may or may not have to pay them for this time, depending on whether they can work and if they are exempt. You can require your employees to use PTO to cover their pay for these days. But, remember, your employees don’t have to stay with your company, and if you treat them poorly, you will lose your best workers.
Hopefully, this storm turned out to be a “nothingburger,” for PostCardmania employees, and there’s no significant damage. But you need to trust your government officials and even the Weather Channel and get out and shut down when they tell you to.
Suzanne Lucas
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