As Corona Fears Loom Large, Here’s How To Stay Calm At Work

Managing fears and anxiety

The newest updates regarding the feared Coronavirus can be difficult to cipher through. There are facts and then there are conspiracy theories - this we know for certain. There continues to be several new cases around the world daily and the severity can depend on your age and the strength, or weakness, of your immune system. It’s recommended to use common sense as much as possible which includes decreasing or stopping your travel to areas where the virus has caught on strongly; avoiding big groups of people; pausing the shaking of hands; and staying at home should you feel as though you’re developing flu-like symptoms. Nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to this new virus and until there is a known cure, we as individuals need to do our very best to avoid it. But how do we balance these precautions with running our business and going to work everyday?
 

The amount of coverage in the media (which is important) is keeping the coronavirus top-of-mind. This can cause anxiety, creating a loss of emotional real estate. With increased anxiety, many employees find it harder to concentrate on their projects and/or goals – causing a decline in productivity. A decline in productivity causes a decline in profitability. 

Another consideration is the relationship between the leaders/managers of organizations and their teams. These leaders/managers also experience increased levels of anxiety during times like these. How they effectively deal with that in the eyes of their team is incredibly important. They have to control their anxiety to the best of their ability – so it doesn’t spill over and create additional unneeded anxiety to the rest of their teams and clients. 

Many of the members of our workforce do not have the option to work remotely from home. Many are in the service or retail industry and have constant contact with other human beings. Some may call in sick because of the fear of coming into contact with other people, which can start the ripple effect for your business. No service provider means no service, which equals no revenue.

As the founder and co-owner of Cool Beauty Consulting, a full-service wholesale distribution and consulting firm, I’ve noticed that coronavirus has caused some delays in new product launches and delays in packaging components. In addition, it has caused me to rethink and alter my behaviors as a business person. For example, we purchase finished goods from our vendors and I am now taking a much deeper and prudent look at my vendors’ suppliers, researching how strong, or weak, their own supply chain is. Secondly, I practice stronger due diligence when choosing a new vendor. And finally, we have been increasing our inventory as a preventative measure. It’s better for a little more short-term investment to maintain my long-term client relationships. Any delays can cause unneeded fatigue on these businesses and our relationships. 

The good news? Not all impacts on businesses have to be negative. For example, at my hair salon business, NOVA Salons, we have been pro-active by communicating directly with our clients about coronavirus. We have sent an email to our entire database where we explain how seriously we look at protecting the health of our clients as well as our salon team. In this email, we put emphasis on the fact that we practice top-notch sanitation and cleanliness at NOVA Salons, which include washing our hands in-between clients, increasing our hand sanitation placement, etc. Signs have been placed in all restrooms stating, “Out with germs, in with love”, encouraging our clients to wash their hands. It continues with the statement, “then look in the mirror and smile at your beautiful self”. This message is written to make the client feel comfortable about a frightening topic. These are practices that we have always taken very seriously, and simply reaffirming this publicly with our clients has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. 

The most important thing in our particular situation is to stay calm and plan ahead. I highly encourage everyone to think through all the aspects (both good and bad) and look for ways to be better for your people, your business, and your community going forward. We are all connected. 

Small Business Consultant & Award Winning Entrepreneur, Bennie Pollard, is the Author of Small Business for the Rest of Us. Pollard is the Co-owner and operator of several brick-and-mortar salons as well as the small business consulting and distribution business, Cool Beauty Consulting, which was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies. Visit www.coolbeautyconsulting.com Connect Bennie Pollard