Views

Can neither snow nor rain keep your workers from their appointed rounds?

Perhaps you’ve heard, but here in the D.C. area, it’s been a bit snowy lately. By a bit, I mean we've already gotten about 2 ½ feet of the white stuff, with some 10 to 20 inches more expected as I typed this. The storm, dubbed “Snowpacalypse” by clever residents and meteorologists, began last Friday morning and lasted until Saturday night.

Today is Tuesday, and many suburban roads remain unplowed, the federal government is closed, all area schools are closed (some through week’s end) and commuter bus and rail service is severely hampered. Needless to say, a lot of people aren’t working this week.

As I work from my couch, waiting for still more snow, I wondered how you pros handle operating during inclement weather.

Do you have a standing telecommuting policy for employees who are snowed in? Do you offer backup child care/elder care options when schools/daycares/adult care facilities are closed?

Are workers expected to live by the mail carrier’s creed: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”? How do you communicate office closings and inclement weather policies/updates?

Please comment and let me know. It will help me get my mind off my incrasing cabin fever.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Quality of life benefits
MORE FROM EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS