SOMERVILLE, MA – MAY 12: A pedestrian walks through an empty parking lot outside of T.J. Maxx HomeGoods store in Somerville, MA on May 12, 2020. Governor Charlie Baker on Monday offered a broad outline of what reopening Massachusetts would look like, warning the process would be gradual and could face heavy revisions should the novel coronavirus again run rampant in one of the countrys hardest-hit states. The first wave will likely focus on industries that rely on few face-to-face interactions with customers, though Baker didnt cite any examples, with the goal of launching phase one around May 18 depending on the progress in controlling COVID-19. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Massachusetts employers should prepare for psychological fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and plan to have a workplace testing strategy, two of the Bay State’s top employers said.
In a virtual panel as part of the World Medical Innovation Forum, Peter Markell, chief financial officer of Mass General Brigham, and Marc Casper, president and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said employers will likely have to confront and assuage employees' fears about returning to the office. Testing is expected to play a key role in providing confidence.
“I think there's two things we're very focused on," Markell said. "One is this pure fear factor. And how do we help employees overcome that? But the other is a real mental health issue and you can argue the two are related… Some people do better with change than others. I think this is more change than most people are used to dealing with.”
