Nonessential employees: a refresher
While the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer at its peak and therefore not an immediate threat to businesses, future pandemics or crises could affect your business operations. Terms like essential or nonessential employees may be less common now, but it could still be important to use them in the future if your business needs to close for public health reasons.
How preparing for future emergencies can future-proof businesses
Our guide to future-proofing and work explains how the future of work belongs to businesses that adapt. Communicating quickly and providing flexible or hybrid work patterns are important, especially during emergencies.
By preparing for future crises, at least in theory, you could help future-proof your business. As we found in our guide to skills-based strategies for future-proofing, global developments can reshape the skills you need to hire for.
During a public health crisis, employees with skills related to healthcare or other similar services may be in more demand or may be deemed essential to a country’s infrastructure. Nonessential employees, however, have skills that are not integral to the proper functioning of infrastructure. The next section explains how authorities defined nonessential employees in the past to help you prepare for the future.
What are nonessential employees?
Nonessential employees perform work that authorities consider unnecessary during a state of emergency. Their duties don’t support health and safety infrastructure during emergencies and, as such, aren’t required to maintain public health.
Emergencies can force nonessential businesses to close, directly affecting the nonessential employees who work for them. Consequently, businesses may instruct nonessential workers to stay at home.
Nonessential employees vs. essential employees
A nonessential employee’s job doesn’t support the critical infrastructure required to maintain public health and safety. Essential employees, however, perform duties that are important to maintaining critical infrastructure during a state of emergency.
These employees are usually in roles within the healthcare, law enforcement or other public service industries. Compared to their nonessential counterparts, essential employees often face higher risks of infection exposure and transmission due to the nature of their work.
What are essential employees?
Essential employees support critical health and safety infrastructure, including healthcare, energy and emergency services. These employees are often frontline workers who must be physically present at a job site to perform their duties. During emergencies, essential employees, such as those in grocery stores and public transit, often work long hours.
Employers and government bodies define essential services and employees according to their industry or field. However, this can lead such authorities to classify essential workers in broad and vague terms. Clearly defining which roles are essential helps your employees know which category they belong to.
Examples of nonessential employees
In the past, states may have been individually responsible for classifying whether certain jobs are essential or nonessential during an emergency. Common examples of nonessential employees have included:
- Hairdressers and estheticians
- Retail and sales associates for nonessential goods
- Entertainment industry employees (e.g., movie theaters and concert venues)
- Fitness professionals (e.g., personal and athletic trainers)
- Teachers and remote educators
- Non-supportive administrators
- Manufacturers of nonessential goods
- Landscapers, gardeners and florists
- Servers and line cooks
However, this might be subject to change depending on the nature of future health crises, pandemics or other similar challenges to businesses. Authorities might classify essential or nonessential employees depending on how an infection is transmitted, who is most likely to be affected or become unwell and the availability of resources.
What businesses can learn from COVID-19
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonessential businesses were ordered or encouraged to close to help control the spread of the virus. During this time, businesses were subject to sanitation and social-distancing guidelines in order to remain open. Some businesses also opted to close on a temporary or permanent basis due to reduced demand and insufficient business income.
Handling furloughs or layoffs
During times of crisis, employers might make the difficult decision to furlough or lay off nonessential employees. To help your team navigate this type of transition, you can guide them toward resources like unemployment assistance and insurance. Other businesses may operate under specific restrictions, which means that they might not close altogether but may operate under reduced hours.
In this case, businesses might offer nonessential employees reduced hours and pay. However, to keep nonessential employees loyal to you, consider offering them paid leave, which helps cover the costs of necessities such as utility bills and food. This can be a great way to reinforce your employer brand and reputation, even during difficult periods.
Remote, online workspaces can help retain staff
Some businesses may choose to move operations remotely when possible, asking many employees to work from home. Many employees and businesses have found success in working remotely, such as decreased exposure to infections, increased daily flexibility and less time spent commuting to the office.
Creating a remote work emergency plan
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become a much more feasible option for businesses. Having an emergency procedure in place for migrating workplaces online could be useful for employees who have since returned to the office. This could include:
- Communicating the plan via email, text and/or phone so that employees are well-prepared for the migration
- Ensuring essential documentation and instructions are available to employees online
- Using organizational change management strategies to help employees feel more confident about a return to remote work
With an emergency plan in place, employees considered nonessential can continue working, helping your business generate revenue during difficult circumstances.
In some cases, employers can provide employees with equipment such as ergonomic chairs and personal technologies to use for work. Some nonessential employees face more difficulty affording necessities and managing household expenses while working remotely.
Remote workspaces can benefit from structure, since this helps promote employee productivity. Some employers have found success in remote operations by taking a few minutes to meet virtually with teams and provide a basic daily workflow template. We encourage video chats over lengthy email exchanges to reinforce the connection to the team and workplace.
