CHANGES IN

WORKPLACE PRACTICES
DURING THE COVID-19
Course Code: MGT 501
Course Title: Principles of Management

Submitted to
Nilufar Yasmin Ahmed
Lecturer
School of Business

Submitted by
Syed Mehran Hussain
ID: 212002068
Masters of Business Administration (MBA)

Date of submission: 21st August 2021

Table of content

Topic Page

Introduction 3
Virtual workplace 3
New timing & technology 3
Seizing new opportunities & Changes in customer habits 4
The Complex Relationship between Remote Work and
Employee Engagement 6

Steps taken by the organization to continue doing their work 7

How Corona virus will Change the ‘Next Normal’ Workplace 10
New Situations Call for New Skills 11
Recommendations to overcome the challenges 13
Conclusion 14

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 Introduction

Current situation: The COVID-19 pandemic, which has already infected almost
170,000 people in 148 countries. Some estimates suggest that 40-70 per cent of the world’s
population could become infected. The crisis has already transformed into an economic
and labor market shock, impacting not only supply (production of goods and services) but
also demand (consumption and investment). Disruptions to production, initially in Asia,
have now spread to supply chains across the world.
All businesses, regardless of size, are facing serious challenges, especially those in the
aviation, tourism and hospitality industries, with a real threat of significant declines in
revenue, insolvencies and job losses in specific sectors.

Virtual workplace
The world’s response to COVID-19 has resulted in the most rapid transformation of the
workplace. Working from home has become the new normal, and we’ve gone from
digitizing the relationship between firm and customer to digitizing the relationship between
employer and employee.
We have been catapulted forward, fast-tracking trends such as automation, digitalization,
and innovation. The quick adoption of new, advanced technology is likely to lead to an
acceleration in the creation of new roles. Changes in workload during the pandemic have
sometimes resulted in an imbalance of resource allocation.
In our organization which is a five star category hotel, had to go with the flow. Adopting
all the changes and implementing them wisely to our daily operations. Our daily head of
departments meeting become daily zoom meeting during the lockdown days as our
operation runs 24/7 so we have to manage and had learn to work remotely.

New timing & technology

Now the situation is much normal and we are attending our office as a regular official
manner. Most employees joined their workplaces with fear and anxiety, but some were
thrilled to finally leave their homes for reasons other than to buy food for the first time in
over two months. Off course we are maintaining all the safety precautions and the rules of
guideline that imposed by the Government of Bangladesh. During the lockdown the
scenario was totally different. “Work from Home” this concept was new for Bangladesh
and we adopt it wisely and get used to work and monitor remotely getting in touched with
enhanced technology and more gadget friendly. Because of the pandemic, it became the
catalyst for the implementation of WfH. The implementation of WfH has changed

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workplace orientation. The use of ICT was a primary need in implementing WfH during
the pandemic.
The WfH concept is highly recommended for big cities because it can support reduced
population mobilization, resulting in reduced congestion and movement costs, and
improved efficiency of working time by reducing travel time. On the other hand, it can help
in the matter of limited of space that office buildings provide.
The use of technology when working from home during off-job time provides significant
and positive effects in terms of time and psychological factors. Factors influencing WfH
are skill in time management, the possibility of working during the most productive hours,
reduced time to communicate with colleagues. WfH needs several forms of support as well
like, training that is appropriately administered will eventually improve the skill of
employees.
There are two sides to the application of WfH: positive and negative. The positive side is
cost efficiency and the negative side is changeable work hours. According to some
employee, using an online working system makes work hours longer and makes employees
overloaded with different kinds of work and for some it offers effectiveness, efficiency,
time savings, productivity, a comfortable atmosphere, and high flexibility.
The lesson from WfH during the COVID-19 pandemic is that the desire to keep
implementing WfH beside WfO in the future is very strong. Therefore, in the future there
are still many things to improve, such as the importance of providing integrated service
applications with an online basis and network access.

Seizing new opportunities & Changes in customer habits

After a hard year for businesses the hospitality industry is heading towards a recovery
which is expected to begin in earnest midway through the year.
We see new behaviors emerging across 8 areas of life (eg, surge in e-commerce, changing
of brand preferences, higher unemployment)
Work: Rise of unemployment On-the-go consumption decline Remote working. “20x
increase in Zoom daily participants” Source: Bond Capital
Learning: Spending on learning adjacencies Remote learning. “35% --> ~35% of Netflix
subscribers use it for educational content” Source: YouGov
Communications and information: In-person sampling decline Shift in media
consumption
Travel and mobility: Reduction in tourist spend and travel retail Increase in domestic
tourism. “80% reduction in international travel & related tourist spend”

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Shopping and consumption: Surge in e-commerce Preference for trusted brands Decline
in discretionary spending, trading down larger basket, reduced shopping frequency Shift to
stores closer to home Polarization of sustainability.
Life at home: Nesting at home Surge in online “Home is recast as the new coffee shop,
restaurant, and entertainment center”
Play and entertainment: Preference for digital entertainment “Entertainment channel
shift” (eg, cinema to streaming) Additional play time. “Disney Plus achieved in 5 months
what took 7 years for Netflix” Source: Phone Arena
Health and wellbeing: Focus on health and hygiene Acceleration of organic, natural, fresh
Fitness on demand E-pharmacy & e-doctor at scale.
Understanding and responding to consumers’ changing behaviors will be essential to the
recovery of the hospitality sector. We need to reimagine the customer experience and re-
engage with customers to build and maintain their trust. At the same time, we need to
improve our operational agility and financial resilience to navigate the uncertainties of
doing business in a world wracked by pandemic. These trends indicate it will still be quite
some time before the hospitality sector returns to business as usual, and those businesses
that depend on travel and tourism are likely to face deeper challenges. Business travel, long
a key driver of hospitality sector revenues, will also take time to recover, though estimates
range from the end of 2020 to two or three years from now. Some portion of business travel
perhaps 5 to 10 percent may not return at all because the companies that once paid for that
travel may disappear.
Trust is essential. We are taking sufficient action to protect their health. We are actively
engage with consumers and communicate the steps we are taking to keep our customers
and employees safe and demonstrate how we are living up to those commitments at every
point of interaction.
Mobile Check in helps keep customers use the Safe Entry smartphone app to scan a QR
code before they enter any restaurant, hotel, or other venue. The app creates a digital diary
of each customer’s travels and visited locations to support Singapore’s contact tracing
efforts.
Home Delivery & Takeaways becomes the bread and butter for food and beverage of our
hotel. As the lockdown was there and restrictions on dine in the restaurants so we had to
come up with this idea to survive. We had to implement E-books to replace our printed
menu to publish in online. We make lot of QR code and place it everywhere to make it
easier for our client to see the menu.

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The Complex Relationship between Remote Work and Employee
Engagement

It is said to be the driver of productivity, as contented employees are likely to perform high.
When the morale of employees is high, the organization reaches to its full potential in terms
of its business and profitability. But when the employees are working remotely, efforts
need to be taken by the organization to maintain, nurture and boost the morale of the
employees and to cope with the remote work environment.
The hardest part was to convince them while some employees return to the office while
others continue to work at home. To some extent, the pandemic only accelerated existing
trends toward more flexible work arrangements that include at least some remote work.
Millennials, in particular, value the freedom to juggle work and life as they see fit. We took
this initiative to cut down on the cost and also to less gathering as a part of precaution.
Multinational companies have some similarity as well as differences in their practices of
“SOP.” All these companies have similar methods to share organizational goal and values.
All of them rely on a top-down approach where they ensure employees understand their
contribution to organizational success with open dialogue and discussion. These companies
ensure transparency methods like audit or discussion of policies during training/induction
to ensure employee empowerment.
In case of “Leadership” or “Strategic Narrative” which is the first driver for engagement,
most of the local and multinational companies use a top-down approach to share
organizational mission and goals. It can be observed that decentralization is more
prominent in multinational companies compared to local companies. All multinational and
local companies have some kind of transparency ensuring methods. In case of performance
appraisal process most local organization used KPI based evaluation system.
We are an organization with 248 staffs. During the starting of lockdown in 2019 we had to
lay off our 85 employees to save our cost and to survive the situation. Now we are operating
with 135 staff but the hotel is in full operation now. So everyone is a multitasker now, to
make it happen we send them for some cross trainings to other departments. We arrange
staff party regularly to keep them motivated.
We have arranged twice a month covid test for them to make sure they are in a good shape
also to make them understand that the company cares about their health and safety. When
the restrictions was imposed by the government we provided shuttle service for each staff
because public transport was not available on that time.
Employee engagement has been highlighted as one of the very important areas of Human
Resource Management in recent. Although it is proven that employee engagement clearly
affects organizational financial and non-financial performances. They have some
strategies, but there are some areas for improvement. Local firms seem to be a little more

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interested in the traditional command and control approach which does not create the
platform for the employees to exercise their voice over the organizational decisions

Steps taken by the organization to continue doing their work

Being a five star category hotel you cannot stop for even 1 minute, we run our operation
24/7 continuously without any break. Anytime you come or give a call to us you will find
someone there to assist you with your queries. During this lockdown when all offices were
closed but we couldn’t as we had to host our in room guests those who were staying with
us on that time. This was a new challenge for us and overcome it with proper planning and
execution with the guidance of managerial experiences.
Hotels is a places where there is a high degree of interaction among guests and workers. It
is these aspects—the room of guests, the services this requires (food and beverage,
cleaning, activity organization, etc.) and the interactions specific to these establishments
(guest-guest, guest-staff, and staff-staff) that require specific attention.
We ensure that all our staff of the hotel should comply with protective measures against
COVID-19 including hand hygiene, physical distancing, avoiding touching eyes, nose and
mouth, cough and sneezing etiquette (respiratory hygiene), use of medical or fabric masks,
stay-at-home orders when indicated and seeking medical attention when symptoms
consistent with COVID-19 are present.
The management team of the hotel develop a comprehensive strategy to adapt to COVID-
19 pandemic situation including the following aspects. We allocate adequate resources to
ensure the continuous and effective implementation of the action plan. The implementation
of the action plan and the effectiveness of the measures undertaken evaluated frequently to
verify compliance, identify and correct gaps, and for adaption the plan based on practical
experience. A crisis team involving members of each relevant department support
management in the implementation of the action plan and timely identification of required
adjustments.
Physical distancing measures, although it is probable that guests are already familiar with
physical distancing measures, hand cleaning, and respiratory hygiene, they should be
reminded as a form of hospitality.
• Physical distancing involves maintaining a distance of at least 1 meter between guests
and one another. Wherever possible, we provided physical barriers between staff and
guests (for example a protective Plexiglas board at reception and concierge desks).

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• Hand hygiene means regularly and thoroughly cleaning hands with an alcohol-based hand
rub or washing them with soap and water. Hand hygiene is recommended after exchanging
objects (money, credit cards) with guests.
• Respiratory hygiene means covering the mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when
coughing or sneezing. The used tissue should be disposed of immediately in a bin with a
lid. Hand hygiene should then be performed.

Necessary equipment and personal protective kit at public area

We kept at our reception personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for use in the event of
a suspected case of COVID-19. That’s also include the following items:
• Disinfectant and cloths or disinfectant wipes for surface cleaning
• Medical mask and eye protection, separate or combined, face shield, goggles (disposable)
• Gloves (disposable)
• Plastic apron (disposable)
• Isolation gown (disposable)
• Biohazard disposable waste bag
We arrange training for our how to use the kit including when to use the full PPE kit and
procedures for putting on, removing and disposing of the PPE. If required, local health
authorities may help provide the necessary PPE.
Dishwashing and laundry equipment
The proper functioning of the dishwashing and laundry equipment regularly checked to
ensure it is operating as per the specifics on the machine’s data plate, particularly with
regards to operating temperatures and correct dosage of cleaning and disinfecting
chemicals.
• Monitoring carbon dioxide (CO2) levels according to national regulation, because CO2
level is a rough indicator of the effectiveness of ventilation and overcrowding.
• The proper functioning of ventilation, air exchange, and dehumidification equipment of
indoor pools should be checked.

Washing dishes, silverware, and table linen

The usual procedures are followed. All dishes, silverware and glassware are washed and
disinfected in a dishwashing machine. Items that have not been used also undergo the same

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procedure, since they may have been in contact with the hands of guests or staff. Linens
are machine washed in hot water (60-90°C) with laundry detergent. If machine washing is
not possible, soak linens in a container with water (preferably hot) and soap or laundry
Table setting
Government instructions are followed on whether indoor dining is allowed. The premises
had adequate ventilation. Whenever possible, we allowed maximum of 6 persons for 10
square meters indoors. Tables are arranged such that the distance from the back of one
chair to the back of another chairs are more than 1 meter and that guests face each other
from a distance of at least 1 meter.
Gym, swimming pool, spa, sauna and steam bath facilities
A minimum number of persons allowed to ensure adequate physical distancing. Guests
using these facilities wearing of fabric masks in public settings such as these facilities.
Each facility are properly ventilation and air conditioning recommendations as described
earlier. All the guest have easy access to facilities for hand hygiene (soap and water and
alcohol hand rub), especially in toilet and changing room areas. Towels provided for single
use only also a bin for guests to place their towel after use for laundering.
When guests or employees are identified with COVID-19
As part of the hotel action plan for COVID-19, there we had special cleaning and
disinfection plan for situations in which there are sick guests or employees staying at the
hotel or identified with COVID-19. The following were implemented for rooms or specific
areas exposed to COVID-19 cases:
• Any surfaces that have been in contact with or are in the environment of the ill person(s),
such as toilet, handwashing basins, and baths, are cleaned and then disinfected with a
regular household disinfectant solution or a solution containing 0.1% sodium hypochlorite
• We provide our service staffs additional training in the preparation, handling, application,
and storage of these products (mostly bleach, which may be at a higher concentration than
usual).
• Whenever possible, use only disposable cleaning materials. Any material to be re-used
should be nonporous and disinfected with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite solution or according
to manufacturer’s instructions before using for other rooms.
• Textiles, linens, and clothes were kept in special, marked laundry bags and handled
carefully to prevent raising dust, with consequent potential contamination of surrounding
surfaces or people. Washing them in warm cycles (60-90ºC) with the usual detergents. All
used items handled appropriately to mitigate the risk of potential transmission. Disposable
items (hand towels, gloves, medical masks, tissues) placed in a container with a lid and
disposed of according to the hotel action plan and national regulations for waste
management.

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• The affected guest in isolation room must wear a medical mask and our staff while enter
the room (e.g. for cleaning and disinfection) and practice respiratory hygiene. Place tissues
into an intact plastic bag, seal it for disposal and collection by municipal waste services;
clean hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub. If staff must assist the ill guest
and cannot maintain at least 1 meter distance, they should put on appropriate PPE including
a medical mask and eye protection before providing assistance. Clean hands on leaving the
guest’s room.
• If staff use PPE, they should remove them carefully to avoid self-contamination. Remove
first gloves and gown, do hand hygiene; next remove the medical mask and eye protection,
and immediately clean hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub. Staff must be
trained in this procedure.
Monitoring of sick guests, Housekeeping and cleaning staff inform the management or the
reception desk of any pertinent incidents, such as noticing sick guests in their rooms. They
must treat all this information with discretion, leaving it up to the management and to
medical services to evaluate the situation and make appropriate decisions.

How Corona virus will Change the ‘Next Normal’ Workplace

Not shaking hands and wearing a mask is become the New Normal when you are meeting
or greeting somebody. Visiting cards transform to QR code so you have a contactless
information sharing with your client or partners.
One thing is certain—things may never be the same. Safe facility management during an
unprecedented pandemic requires a high level of planning and precaution. The measures
implement to increase employee productivity, promote workplace trust, and most
importantly, keep employees and customers safe. It was not always easy to keep up with
new regulations, especially with constantly changing guidelines. Regardless, the first
priority always is employee safety. Second, keep employees informed of changes and
guidelines. Assign staff to monitor local conditions and guidelines, then share updates on
a consistent schedule. Keep a global perspective and adjust plans as needed to comply with
local requirements.
Most official guidelines center on three principles masking, sanitation, and social
distancing. Employees want clean workplaces, even more so now under COVID-19. Make
sanitation a priority by setting up hygiene stations with hand sanitizer, soap, gloves, and
disinfecting wipes. The typical weekly office cleanings may not be enough. Consider hiring
extra cleaning staff to more frequently clean bathrooms, break areas, and shared spaces
like conference rooms and lounges. Posted policies and directional signage are great visual
reminders for customers and employees to abide by our workplace precautions.

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The post-pandemic “next normal” requires flexibility and adaptability. Desks, rooms, and
entire floors may not function the same way. Previous policies for remote work, sick leave,
and work schedules may need to be reevaluated in the new work environment.
We can’t forecast every situation, but we can be flexible in establishing our new normal.
Employees appreciated our efforts as they return to their former though newly arranged—
workspaces.
 Limiting the number of workers in the office at a time and their proximity to each
other
 Hiring a company medical director to be an in-house expert
 Carrying some cost-saving measures forward to remain more efficient in the future
 Decreasing travel especially meetings
 Expanding new business functions
 Making new employee morale and engagement programs -- wellbeing programs.

New Situations Call for New Skills

Each of our employees reacted differently in times of disruption and their strengths will
influence those reactions. Individualizing is key and understanding an employee's strengths
can be an excellent way to do just that. Someone with high discipline may deal with crisis
and change very differently from someone high in adaptability. When disruption occurs
the high Discipline person will need routines and structure to help them feel grounded.
They can also potentially bring some of that structure and routine to others who are
struggling to make sense of the disorder.
Communication is evolving as employee needs and empathy matters. All managers are
having more conversations and meetings with front liners, and some are checking
employees. These include:
 weekly all-hands calls and videoconferences
 Employee portals for updates, information and resources
 Tools and guides for working remotely on networks such as Zoom, Microsoft
Teams, Skype for Business
 Portals/tools specific to parents
 Videos that explain company benefits, unemployment and government guidelines

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  Critical thinking
 Innovation
 Creative problem solving
 Flexibility and adaptability
 Communication and emotional intelligence
 Self-awareness and self-management
 Negotiation and relationship management

This changing environment calls for a transformation in how we think about learning.
Young people must “learn to learn” in order to develop the abilities required to gain new
skills and adapt, which will help them secure work opportunities. They must also learn to
discern reliable information to navigate today’s information landscape fraught with false
and misleading information.
The explosion of social media during the pandemic has been well documented. We can be
sure that now and in the future, social media will only continue to grow in importance for
our hospitality business – not just for branding, messaging and marketing, but also for
reassuring customers of our safe practices, gathering data and engaging with new
audiences.
Our senior management overwhelmingly agree that young employees need soft skills, such
as communication, creative problem-solving and tactical thinking. We provided them soft
skill curricula to support learning and non-formal training programmers. These skills
require new ways of understanding and shaping cognitive processes, solving relevant, real-
world problems, building motivation and make in the progress.
The days of a hotel manager shut away in a back office are over. They will need to be
multifaceted: even more present throughout the hotel, taking care of guests and staff,
mobilizing their teams, coaching, teaching and leading by example.
We all need to prove our good leadership during the pandemic by acting swiftly, planning
long-term, developing creative solutions, taking social distancing seriously, taking care of
employees, innovating, being charitable and socially responsible, and communicating
honestly and empathetically with staff, stakeholders and customers.

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Recommendations to overcome the challenges

The hospitality sector was hit hard by government measures to limit coronavirus. Arguably,
it’s been more negatively impacted than any other industry. Flying
bans, travel restrictions and the forced closure of restaurants and bars have come together
to throw the continued existence of many hotels into question.
But there is a glimmer of hope. As lockdowns around the world come to an end and things
return to a semblance of normality, hotels are preparing to reopen. Now we can look
forward to large, expectant markets that are eager to start travelling again.
Hotels with a rigorous strategy will be in the best position to make up for the losses
and difficulties of the past few months.
The first step for hotels, before thinking about marketing, diversification, remote working,
or anything else, is to take care of logistics. Failure to adhere to COVID-19 safety
regulations could have many negative consequences, including breaking the law.
Put measures in place to ensure appropriate social distancing and hygiene can be
maintained. Stock up on protective equipment for staff, like face masks and hand gel. It is
essential that both employees and clients feel confident that they’re in a safe environment.
Going forward, attracting clients will require a change
of marketing direction. Customers have new concerns, whether related to safety, hygiene,
flight restrictions or a myriad of other issues, and it’s imperative that you provide the
relevant information in your marketing materials.
Don’t leave any corner unturned when it comes to our marketing strategy. Small jobs, like
changing our opening times on Google and updating our website with coronavirus-related
information, are equally as important as bigger-picture tasks.
The hospitality industry relies on a diverse network of global supply chains, many of which
have been affected by coronavirus. That’s why it’s essential for hotels to create
contingency plans if they want to maintain a high level of service. Numerous options are
available, including suppliers from other countries (especially outside of China), local
replacements and alternative delivery companies. It won’t be possible to offer exactly the
same package of benefits to guests once various safety guidelines have been implemented.
Services like restaurants, spa treatments, and organized activities and so on will likely have
to be put on hold for a period.
That’s why it’s important for hotels to diversify their value proposition. In many cases it
will be possible to overcome obstacles to providing certain services, such as by delivering
meals to rooms, running activities with social distancing and adhering to a capacity
policies in communal areas like swimming pools.

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Going forward, hotels should focus on the most profitable segments of their markets.
Millennials, for example, are more eager to start travelling than older groups that are more
vulnerable. And the number of people planning holidays in their native countries (rather
than going abroad) is expected to grow substantially.
This strategy will enable companies in the hospitality sector to achieve the best possible
return-on-investment at a time when revenues are sorely needed. Equally, understanding
that targeting previously profitable markets might be untenable in the short-term will limit
wasted resources.

Conclusion

Preparedness is the key to addressing any health crisis, and so far, Bangladesh, as a lower-
middle-income country, has numerous limitations in restricting the spread of the virus.
While continuing the lockdown at any cost with more strict maintenance, the country has
to expand its testing and healthcare facilities. It has to ensure a constant supply of PPE for
healthcare workers. Above all, improvised and timely measures taken with proper
coordination may help the country to fight the lethal virus. The Government will not be
able to mitigate the situation alone, individual efforts from the citizens, direct involvement
of the nation's public health experts, and international help are urgently needed. As the
situation intensifies, the world is closely watching how Bangladesh will navigate this crisis.
The hospitality sector in Bangladesh and elsewhere around the world is composed to
develop from the COVID-19 lockdown and do business once more. Yet hospitality
organizations will find themselves in a very different business environment and dealing
with some important changes in consumer behavior.
In an environment of dramatically lower revenues, high fixed costs, less than optimal asset
returns, and the need to conserve capital, hospitality organizations will need to determine
which areas to prioritize and invest in. They will need to find the right balance between
investment and conservation, one that achieves the highest ROI in the near to medium term.
Some of these decisions will endure; others may not. But the decisions made in the months
to come will have a lasting impact on the operating models of the hospitality sector for
years to come.

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