In 2021, the contiguous U.S. states suffered 20 separate billion-dollar weather disasters. With widespread destruction and damage caused by severe weather, many communities are left facing internet, power, and other utility outages.
This data shows the alarming truth: No one is immune to the realities of natural disasters. The destruction leaves more than damage to the home; it creates a financial burden for us regular folks to recover our property – an instability few can afford.
The emotional stress brought on by severe weather is only compounded in today’s work-from-wherever era. Now that our homes often doubling as the “office”, the blows of severe weather at home is more than just a homeowner problem. It’s the employer’s problem, too.
For example, employers have less say in the type of risk-mitigation efforts and preparedness their employees take against natural disasters. Maintaining a secure, connected workplace becomes a moot point when a large portion of your workforce is operating at home.
Now, employers are in a unique position to better support their employees – and who doesn’t want to do that? The financial, and more so the emotional, stress caused by disaster can take a toll on your workforce. Companies are poised to safeguard employee financial resiliency and business continuity by helping them recover faster.
We did some digging and identified two major ways employers can support their distributed workforce to be proactive and take disaster resiliency into their own hands.
Adding disaster insurance to your employee benefit program
Most American households are unprepared to weather unexpected costs – especially after an event like a natural disaster. In a recent report from the Federal Reserve, more than a 25% of adults were either unable to pay their monthly bills or were one $400 financial setback away from being unable to pay them in full. That’s far from being financially resilient enough to cover the steep costs of home and renters insurance deductibles or the surprises that come with damage from severe weather.
Instead of leaving employees on the hook to cover these costs – especially while they patiently wait for their traditional insurance policies to process the claim – employers can step up and make disaster insurance (cough, cough Recoop) offering available as part of an employee benefit program.
It helps them bounce back faster from a natural disaster because they have access to fast, flexible funds to protect their financial wellness.
Develop disaster plans to help employees after severe weather strikes
From a preparedness viewpoint, you’re in a position to provide assistance for employees in the event of a natural disaster. You can develop creative solutions that support employee financial wellness while protecting their productivity. Options like temporary housing, backup power, and mobile hot spots can all be used to safeguard your workforce and help keep them plugged in.
By covering some of the stresses of severe weather, employers can meet the needs of their employees while maintaining mobility and connectivity.
We get it – employers can’t eliminate the risk of natural disaster. But that doesn’t mean employers can’t adapt to the new, shifting needs of their dispersed workforce. By protecting employee financial well-being, we can help keep people safe and connected no matter where they “go” to work.