Pandemic Impacts in the Workplace: Employee Wellness, Returning to the Office, & Remote Testimony

← Back to ASCLD Train the Director Series

This webinar originally occurred on April 12, 2022
Duration: 1 hour

Overview

Employers have endured many operational changes due to the pandemic. During the pandemic, employers have faced numerous challenges, such as how to help adjust to and embrace operational change, while still providing good customer service and prompt responsiveness. In addition, employers have had to find ways to increase employee interactions virtually to forge connections and effective collaboration in a remote or hybrid environment.

As the pandemic has evolved, some employers are bringing employees back into the office. Whether employers require full-time hours in the office or opt to develop hybrid programs, supervisors are starting to experience new challenges. Employers who plan to bring employees back into the office risk potentially losing members of their workforce to other occupations that offer complete remote work due to a lingering fear of being exposed to the virus.

Advances in videoconferencing platforms have changed the work environment and allowed for the expanded use of remote testimony in court proceedings. To continue operations and ensure the safety of all participants during the pandemic, many courts turned to remote testimony. Now, courts are continuing to utilize remote testimony to optimize judicial efficiency; however, some constitutional barriers remain.

This webinar will discuss the impact that the pandemic has had on the physical and emotional wellbeing of employees in the laboratory setting as well as personnel issues that workplaces may experience following the pandemic. The presenters will also discuss ways to best care for employees as we try to return to a post-pandemic world and will explore the utilization and expansion of remote testimony in court proceedings.

Detailed Learning Objectives

1. Attendees will learn about the pandemic’s impact on employee physical and mental health and how agencies can support employees.
2. Attendees will be able to identify personnel issues that can occur while making changes to an employee’s work environment and develop strategies to assist with change.
3. Attendees will learn about the constitutional limitations on remote testimony and how it affects employees.

Presenters

• Angie Jones | Wellness Coordinator, Kansas Bureau of Investigation
• Jessica Domme | Assistant Attorney General, Kansas Office of the Attorney General
• Kristin Feeback, PsyD | President/CEO, CommCare, Kansas City, MO