As we enter the second holiday season of the pandemic, restaurants, stores, and hotels have had to rethink consumer health and safety, innovating to attract and retain customers. But they also have been forced to rethink employee safety and well-being – often with a not-so-subtle nudge from their workers. How will consumers shop and eat this holiday season?
That depends, in part, on the measures employers are taking to protect their workers as well as supply chain and employee recruitment and retention issues. In the United States, as workers leave their jobs in record numbers – and most heavily in industries like hospitality and retail – companies find themselves competing for talent. Among other factors like flexibility and childcare, companies are rethinking employee safety measures. As of January 2021, more than 230 McDonald’s outlets were the subject of county, state, or federal coronavirus complaints. And executives were forced to listen. In August 2021, after having reopened indoor dining by 70%, McDonald’s Corp leaned on its franchisees to protect workers, recommending that franchisees close indoor dining in counties with high-COVID spread. Now, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. It is a measure that will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses with 100+ employees. And, polls suggest that more half of workers are in favor of such vaccine requirements at their workplaces.
In the United Kingdom, the impact of the pandemic has also been further exacerbated by Brexit, and British employers are facing the worst worker shortages since the late 1990s. Consumers are being told to expect supply shortages over the holiday season, in part due to shortages of lorry drivers and supply chain issues. Interestingly, in an purported attempt to prioritise employee wellbeing, many large retailers such as Morrisons, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Aldi have made the unprecedented announcement that they will remain closed on Boxing Day this year in order to allow workers to spend more time with their loved ones. However, while this is an important recognition of the strains that both the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of Brexit have put upon workers over the past year, it is also undoubtably a move to help manage consumers’ delivery expectations ahead of anticipated difficulties in maintaining staffing levels and stock over the holiday season.
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