Essential Workers: Key Players in Coronavirus Crisis - Essay Sample

Introduction

The coronavirus pandemic has brought about a series of changes in the lives of people and institutions. One of the significant aspects of life that have changed as a result of the pandemic is employment, and the regulations surrounding labor in many economies. The high rate of unemployment has been caused by low economic activity and the various risks that the employees are exposed to. Some of the key players during this pandemic are the essential workers; who offer critical services to individuals. There has been a change in labor standards, aimed at making sure the interests of the society and the employees are well taken care of. The benefit of the community is that there are appropriate steps to ensure the welfare of the people is addressed adequately. On the other hand, the interest of the employees is their welfare, which is their safety, and economic benefits that they derive from the services they offer. An example of the essential essential workers is in healthcare. They are exposed to a more significant measure of risk, which necessitates a change in labor standards for their benefit.

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The first way the labor standards have changed is by giving preferential treatment to some workers compared to the rest. During the coronavirus pandemic, the essential workers are more important than the other workers, because of the roles they serve in averting a more serious situation. Therefore, there is a need for preferential treatment of the employees to be adequately motivated to help their respective nations in a better way. For example, in the United States, the job security of essential workers has been enhanced in various ways. That is through multiple forms of temporary rules that are meant to provide relief to employers and employees during the coronavirus pandemic. First, as a result of reduced economic activity, some employers of essential workers might not afford to pay them. That may lead to layoffs and job cuts. A reduction in the number of essential workers in the workforce will compromise the efforts meant to address the situation.

There was reimbursement of funds to private employers of the essential service providers, which is meant to cater to their salaries and wages. That is a change from the regular practice, whereby the private entities are solely responsible for taking care of their employees. Furthermore, there will be funds that the employees will be provided with, for sick leave, for leave that is taken in light of issues directly related to coronavirus (Caldararo, 2020). The measure was taken to make sure the welfare of the employees is taken care of, and the financial status of the businesses is considered at the same time. That would enable the employer and employees to have more motivation so that they can engage in efforts that are within the interests of the economy and other people. These provisions are provided for under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which is meant to ensure the essential workers' interests are considered as they offer their services. Furthermore, there has been the suggestion a Sick leave and universal healthcare where healthcare employees will be taking a vacation to enable them to get relief from the stressful work conditions they are facing (Koh, 2020). That will allow them to work more effectively when they return to work during or after the coronavirus pandemic.

The other way labor standards have changed through the government's role in taking care of the essential workers' welfare. Initially, the government was primarily interested in the welfare if essential workers that worked under it. For example, the government would provide commodities to employees that worked in government hospitals to safeguard their welfare. However, during the coronavirus pandemic, that has changed. The government appreciates the role of all essential workers, regardless of the sector they work in, or their employer. In that case, there is the example of the Canadian government. It has engaged in efforts that are meant to safeguard the welfare of the essential employees. For healthcare workers, the government has committed itself to initiatives to provide personal protective equipment (Cook, 2020). The healthcare workers are the essential frontline workers in the fight against coronavirus. By protecting the essential employees against any form of infection by the personal protective equipment, their effectiveness is increased. The government's support helps the essential workers, as they are protected from viruses as they engage in healthcare service provision.

The labor essential workers' labor standards can also be highlighted in with Brazil as an example. There has been a change like activities concerning essential workers, which is meant to be for their convenience. When there is a convenience for the essential workers that translate into better service delivery in the long run. There has been an example of some essential service providers working from home (Tanne et al., 2020). Apart from the health workers, there are other essential service providers, such as financial service providers. They provide services which are of great benefit to society. Without financial services, most of the activities in economies would stall. Initially, most employers required financial service providers to be present physically at their places of work. That was part of the labor norm, changed in the face of the challenges presented by a coronavirus. Working from home has been embraced by most employers. They have provided their employees with resources and platforms that enable them to work from home; to reduce the chances of their exposure to any infected persons. That works to benefit the employees, as their safety is safeguarded. Furthermore, their convenience as they work from home is enhanced.

Comparatively, almost all countries have had to enhance adjustments in their labor standards to safeguard the interests of their employees. However, the challenge that has been caused is an increase in operating costs in the midst of very low economic activity. That creates a problem for most employers, as they have to bear the burden of the new labor standards. The measures that are taken by various countries depend on their budgetary capacity and the unique nature of their workforce (Mogaji, 2020). For example, the United States has a large budget and more people. Therefore, there are more effective activities that it can undertake; to protect the welfare of the people essential workers that ply their trade in the economy. On the other hand, Brazil is less developed, and the activities it undertakes are meant to protect the essential essential workers. For example, no economic relief package has been offered, which is as effective as the one that the United States has provided to protect the employees in the economy. The economic package that was offered in the United States prioritizes the essential sectors, which the economy cannot survive without.

At the moment, there are more reasons for changing labor standards to benefit the essential workers in any economy. They are tasked with the responsibility of making sure the essential services continue to operate. That is despite the hardship that has been caused by the pandemic. Therefore, there has been a highlight of various examples of how different countries have been taking care of their essential workers. The degree of care differs, depending on the ability of a country to cushion its employees from any hardships. The more developed nations have taken better measures to safeguard the interest s of their labor force, though prioritizing the essential workers. Less developed countries have healthcare workers as their major interest to protect, while for more developed nations, the interests are spread across various sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services. The common characteristic they all have is that they implement measures to benefit their essential workers.

References

Caldararo, N. L. (2020). The End of Leisure and Retirement, Covid-19: Innovations, Jobs, pensions, and Keynes: Guaranteed Income or Future Poverty and Redundancy?. Covid-19: Innovations, Jobs, pensions, and Keynes: Guaranteed Income or Future Poverty and Redundancy. https://www.kjnm.co.ke/index.php/kjnm/article/view/149

Cook, T. M. (2020). Personal protective equipment during the coronavirus disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic–a narrative review. Anaesthesia. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/anae.15071

Koh, D. (2020). Occupational risks for COVID-19 infection. Occupational medicine (Oxford, England), 70(1), 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7107962/

Mogaji, E. (2020). Financial vulnerability during a pandemic: insights for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Mogaji, E, 57-63. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3564702

Tanne, J. H., Hayasaki, E., Zastrow, M., Pulla, P., Smith, P., & Rada, A. G. (2020). Covid-19: how doctors and healthcare systems are tackling coronavirus worldwide. Bmj, 368. https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1090