To make sure your career keeps going despite widespread industry disruption due to the coronavirus, executive recruiter Jack Kelly has listed some tips for navigating the post-pandemic world. Making yourself indispensable and gaining short-term experience to stay relevant are important for holding on to current positions, but others should consider relocating, pivoting to a new field, working remote or starting a business, Kelly advises.
Emphasize career growth during recruitment, make it part of the employee experience and encourage managers to help employees focus on their futures, writes Gallup's Shannon Mullen O'Keefe. "The very best organizations establish cultures that facilitate individual career growth from the start," O'Keefe writes.
Keep your job search rolling by ensuring that your online presence and relevant profiles are up-to-date, touching base with both personal and professional contacts, and using and sharing professional educational materials, writes talent acquisition partner Katie Rice. Also, keep in mind that the pandemic has shifted the bar on work in general and hiring practices in particular, so don't lose hope if you don't see immediate results.
Employees in some states will no longer be eligible for unemployment benefits if they do not return to work when their employers reopen. Iowa is relaxing social distancing mandates in most of the state May 1, and Texas is planning to reopen select businesses May 1 as well.
Infectious disease experts say taking employees' temperatures at work may not be a reliable method for determining whether people have COVID-19 because people with the disease can be asymptomatic. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says employers can conduct screenings but also should require social distancing and frequent handwashing.
Stressful times can take a toll on workers' sleep, but nutrition experts share advice on when and what to eat to improve your sleep. Avoiding rich fatty or spicy foods before bed, leaving at least two hours in between going to bed and your last meal as well as eating specific foods such as kiwis can improve your sleep.
The largest hole ever recorded in the Arctic ozone has now closed. Scientists believe the hole was caused by unusually powerful polar vortex, rather than by the reduction in pollution from lockdown.