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印度疫情令人绝望,但这家巨头仍然在死守

S. Mitra Kalita
2021-05-08

正如该公司首席执行官一直以来所警告的,这场灾难影响的远不止有印度。

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2021年5月4日,人们在新德里一处疫苗接种中心等待接种由印度血清研究所生产的Covishield疫苗。图片来源:Imtiyaz Khan—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

印孚瑟斯公司(Infosys)的总裁拉维·库马尔去年一直在尽其所能呼吁全世界关注疫苗。

去年12月,他给我发了一封颇有先见之明的电子邮件。“企业可以发挥关键作用,在工作场所传播疫苗知识、建立人们对疫苗接种的信任。”他在邮件中写道,“如今,建立和维系对疫苗的信心前所未有地重要。”

五个月后的今天,库马尔正在全力抗击新冠疫情,他的想法和言辞也依然没有改变。印孚瑟斯共有25万名员工,其中大部分都在印度工作,而印度的新冠感染率正在不断飙升。本周新闻头版头条刊出的印度感染数据创下历史新高,单日新增病例高达40万例。疫苗、氧气和医院床位都很匮乏,人们越来越绝望。这是一场可怕的灾难。

正如库马尔一直以来所警告的,这场灾难影响的远不止有印度。作为全球经济和印度崛起的象征,印孚瑟斯的业务遍布46个国家,该公司承诺未来两年将在美国雇佣数万名工人。库马尔本人则常驻纽约,这一点与公司以往的高管有所不同。

我们可能无法再“回到”曾经生活的那个世界。印孚瑟斯等企业警告称,现如今各国在专利、护照等问题上争论不休,全球难以齐心协力应对新冠疫情,这会对我们已紧密相连的劳动力和经济构成巨大的威胁。库马尔抗击新冠疫情、保护员工和企业的做法,值得其他依赖全球化的个人和企业(也就是我们大多数人)效仿。以下是我们能够借鉴的一些经验教训:

在我们所有人都安全之前,没有人是安全的

印度、巴西和其他国家抗击新冠疫情的影像令人揪心。库马尔提醒我们,不要盲目乐观。“大家一定要明白,面对这场疫情,在我们所有人都安全之前,没有人是安全的。”他说,“私营企业的作用是确保全球经济继续向前发展,我们这些大型全球企业可以与我们的员工跨境合作,建立信心,减轻公众对疫苗的疑虑。”

过去几年,我们依然互相依存:我们几乎不可能一整天都不消费任何一种牵涉其他国家劳动力的商品或服务。

而雇主也能够帮忙传播相关信息。库马尔称:“企业具有独一无二的力量,可以起到劝说和消除疑虑的作用,能够透明清晰地说明情况,遏制与新冠疫苗相关的不信任和恐惧蔓延。”

在缺乏统一准则、协作或共识的情况下,企业必须进一步发挥力量

印孚瑟斯要求出差员工“不管政府如何规定”,都要进行自我隔离,到达目的地后至少一周内不得前往印孚瑟斯或客户的办公室。

无论度假出游还是商务出差的旅行者,都曾经对各地新冠检测和隔离规定指导意见相互冲突、混乱不堪的情况表示失望。库马尔表示,在全球缺乏统一协作的情况下,“政府关注自己国家的国民,这些国民大多位于国境以内;而企业关注他们的员工,无论他们身在何方。”

TNMT的一项研究监测了旅行和出行趋势,认为未来员工在做出有关旅行的决策时将会依赖这一指导意见:“公司需要进一步强调保护员工的道德和法律义务。”

这项调查还指出,技术无法取代商务差旅,这更加凸显了抗击新冠疫情对全球经济的紧迫性和必要性。旅行网站Skift的高级研究分析师沃特·海尔茨说:“(访问客户)不仅仅是为了和客户在一个房间里面对面交谈,更是为了展现承诺。如果你正在谈一份价值几百万美元的合同,你提出和客户进行Zoom电话会议,而你的竞争对手却飞去亲自见了这位潜在客户,你认为谁看起来更有诚意?”

给感染新冠病毒的员工放个病假

印孚瑟斯会为感染新冠病毒或正在康复的员工提供额外的21天带薪假期。相比之下,通常美国企业只为员工提供6天至10天的假期,公共部门机构则提供两周假期。

也要关心员工的家人

上周,印度新闻报刊报道,印孚瑟斯在印度浦那和班加罗尔的办公室设立了新冠护理中心,并且还在筹建更多新冠护理中心。此外,一些印孚瑟斯的园区也设立了疫苗接种中心。值得注意的是,这些设施不仅为员工提供服务,也为员工的家人提供服务。这种关心员工全家的做法(不少印度雇主会建造完整的住宅区、医院和学校)意义重大,因为它解决了新冠疫情的一大共同传播源:家庭和家人。

而且,印孚瑟斯借助这些设施,把疫苗带到了人们熟悉的地方,也就是工作场所,从而减轻了疫苗的推广分发工作——在世界上的许多地方,疫苗的推广分发工作一直都很复杂混乱。

免费提供疫苗

从去年12月、今年3月再到现在,库马尔一再指出,印孚瑟斯将负担员工的疫苗费用。他表示,这不仅仅是钱的问题:“这对我们来说很重要。我们不仅想减轻员工的负担,而且我们认为,企业可以在推动全球接种疫苗方面发挥重要作用。”

律师事务所Ogletree Deakins的劳动律师邦妮·帕克特表示,因势施计很关键,因为全球各地的员工在新冠疫情一事上面对的实际情况各不相同:有些国家还处于封锁之中,有些国家已经敞开了国门,有些国家则介于两者之间。她说:“很多地方疫苗的供应量有限,抢先强制要求员工接种疫苗或询问员工疫苗接种情况的行为可能是不合时宜的。”帕克特还补充道,她看到有些企业会尽可能地帮助员工接种疫苗。“这些企业正在努力确保在疫苗供应量有限的地方,他们的员工能够获得疫苗。”她说,“有些企业则在研究跨境接种疫苗的可能性。”

咨询公司Gartner的一项关于人力资源的调查显示,近一半受访组织表示,他们不会跟踪记录员工接种疫苗的情况。但是,免费疫苗、现场接种疫苗和其他补贴有助于强调公司在这一问题上的立场。运动营养和健康食品公司Clif Bar & Co.在上周宣布,接种疫苗的员工可以获得150美元的奖金。如果员工选择捐出这笔奖金,公司会把这笔钱交给致力解决农场工人健康不平等问题的Migrant Clinicians Network组织。“眼下,疫苗获取公平性问题对企业来说是一个极为重要的问题。”Clif Bar的首席执行官莎莉·格兰姆斯称:“我们国家有太多员工依然很难接种疫苗,尤其是一线工作人员。”

全球每一家企业都必须认识到新冠疫情带来的创伤

和许多提供高福利的企业一样,印孚瑟斯在过去一年推出了一系列与心理健康、自我护理、女性健康和工作/生活平衡相关的举措。

这一点十分重要,因为印度、巴西、秘鲁、尼泊尔和瑞典等国家的病例还在增加。你所在的城市或国家逐渐取消封锁,并不意味着视频会议上所有与会人员(或他们的家人)都已经脱离了危险。各地从新冠疫情中恢复的情况可能是不平衡甚至不公平的,雇主需要继续明确一点:全球劳动力是脆弱的,但同时又是紧密相连的。

强有力的新冠疫情应对措施可能有利于企业

一份商业报纸在报道印孚瑟斯新设立的新冠护理中心时肯定地指出:“这家公司86%的收入来自美国和欧洲等市场,该公司表示,目前的健康状况不会影响其向客户交付产品和服务。”

私营企业目前面临着很大的风险。我们可以承认,要想动员有效的新冠疫情应对措施,我们既要关心员工,也要关心企业。

我们每天看到的新闻头条都和印度有关,不止死亡人数和病例统计,还有更多其他新闻,例如《印度新冠危机可能导致全球经济脱轨的四大原因》和《印度新冠危机威胁全球石油产业复苏》。

我问乔治城大学(Georgetown University)的法律教授马达维·桑德,跨国企业能够做些什么,帮助世界发生进一步危机。她说有两点:第一,向旨在弥合发展中国家疫苗缺口的新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划(Covax)捐款;第二,她说:“跨国企业可以帮忙资助发展中国家的疫苗制造商,帮助其改造新冠疫苗生产工厂。我们需要通过投资帮助泰国、巴西、南非、孟加拉国和其他发展中国家现有的制造商。”

正如我们在此次疫情中看到的,发生在一个国家的灾难不会只在这一个国家肆虐。(财富中文网)

译者:钱功毅

印孚瑟斯公司(Infosys)的总裁拉维·库马尔去年一直在尽其所能呼吁全世界关注疫苗。

去年12月,他给我发了一封颇有先见之明的电子邮件。“企业可以发挥关键作用,在工作场所传播疫苗知识、建立人们对疫苗接种的信任。”他在邮件中写道,“如今,建立和维系对疫苗的信心前所未有地重要。”

五个月后的今天,库马尔正在全力抗击新冠疫情,他的想法和言辞也依然没有改变。印孚瑟斯共有25万名员工,其中大部分都在印度工作,而印度的新冠感染率正在不断飙升。本周新闻头版头条刊出的印度感染数据创下历史新高,单日新增病例高达40万例。疫苗、氧气和医院床位都很匮乏,人们越来越绝望。这是一场可怕的灾难。

正如库马尔一直以来所警告的,这场灾难影响的远不止有印度。作为全球经济和印度崛起的象征,印孚瑟斯的业务遍布46个国家,该公司承诺未来两年将在美国雇佣数万名工人。库马尔本人则常驻纽约,这一点与公司以往的高管有所不同。

我们可能无法再“回到”曾经生活的那个世界。印孚瑟斯等企业警告称,现如今各国在专利、护照等问题上争论不休,全球难以齐心协力应对新冠疫情,这会对我们已紧密相连的劳动力和经济构成巨大的威胁。库马尔抗击新冠疫情、保护员工和企业的做法,值得其他依赖全球化的个人和企业(也就是我们大多数人)效仿。以下是我们能够借鉴的一些经验教训:

在我们所有人都安全之前,没有人是安全的

印度、巴西和其他国家抗击新冠疫情的影像令人揪心。库马尔提醒我们,不要盲目乐观。“大家一定要明白,面对这场疫情,在我们所有人都安全之前,没有人是安全的。”他说,“私营企业的作用是确保全球经济继续向前发展,我们这些大型全球企业可以与我们的员工跨境合作,建立信心,减轻公众对疫苗的疑虑。”

过去几年,我们依然互相依存:我们几乎不可能一整天都不消费任何一种牵涉其他国家劳动力的商品或服务。

而雇主也能够帮忙传播相关信息。库马尔称:“企业具有独一无二的力量,可以起到劝说和消除疑虑的作用,能够透明清晰地说明情况,遏制与新冠疫苗相关的不信任和恐惧蔓延。”

在缺乏统一准则、协作或共识的情况下,企业必须进一步发挥力量

印孚瑟斯要求出差员工“不管政府如何规定”,都要进行自我隔离,到达目的地后至少一周内不得前往印孚瑟斯或客户的办公室。

无论度假出游还是商务出差的旅行者,都曾经对各地新冠检测和隔离规定指导意见相互冲突、混乱不堪的情况表示失望。库马尔表示,在全球缺乏统一协作的情况下,“政府关注自己国家的国民,这些国民大多位于国境以内;而企业关注他们的员工,无论他们身在何方。”

TNMT的一项研究监测了旅行和出行趋势,认为未来员工在做出有关旅行的决策时将会依赖这一指导意见:“公司需要进一步强调保护员工的道德和法律义务。”

这项调查还指出,技术无法取代商务差旅,这更加凸显了抗击新冠疫情对全球经济的紧迫性和必要性。旅行网站Skift的高级研究分析师沃特·海尔茨说:“(访问客户)不仅仅是为了和客户在一个房间里面对面交谈,更是为了展现承诺。如果你正在谈一份价值几百万美元的合同,你提出和客户进行Zoom电话会议,而你的竞争对手却飞去亲自见了这位潜在客户,你认为谁看起来更有诚意?”

给感染新冠病毒的员工放个病假

印孚瑟斯会为感染新冠病毒或正在康复的员工提供额外的21天带薪假期。相比之下,通常美国企业只为员工提供6天至10天的假期,公共部门机构则提供两周假期。

也要关心员工的家人

上周,印度新闻报刊报道,印孚瑟斯在印度浦那和班加罗尔的办公室设立了新冠护理中心,并且还在筹建更多新冠护理中心。此外,一些印孚瑟斯的园区也设立了疫苗接种中心。值得注意的是,这些设施不仅为员工提供服务,也为员工的家人提供服务。这种关心员工全家的做法(不少印度雇主会建造完整的住宅区、医院和学校)意义重大,因为它解决了新冠疫情的一大共同传播源:家庭和家人。

而且,印孚瑟斯借助这些设施,把疫苗带到了人们熟悉的地方,也就是工作场所,从而减轻了疫苗的推广分发工作——在世界上的许多地方,疫苗的推广分发工作一直都很复杂混乱。

免费提供疫苗

从去年12月、今年3月再到现在,库马尔一再指出,印孚瑟斯将负担员工的疫苗费用。他表示,这不仅仅是钱的问题:“这对我们来说很重要。我们不仅想减轻员工的负担,而且我们认为,企业可以在推动全球接种疫苗方面发挥重要作用。”

律师事务所Ogletree Deakins的劳动律师邦妮·帕克特表示,因势施计很关键,因为全球各地的员工在新冠疫情一事上面对的实际情况各不相同:有些国家还处于封锁之中,有些国家已经敞开了国门,有些国家则介于两者之间。她说:“很多地方疫苗的供应量有限,抢先强制要求员工接种疫苗或询问员工疫苗接种情况的行为可能是不合时宜的。”帕克特还补充道,她看到有些企业会尽可能地帮助员工接种疫苗。“这些企业正在努力确保在疫苗供应量有限的地方,他们的员工能够获得疫苗。”她说,“有些企业则在研究跨境接种疫苗的可能性。”

咨询公司Gartner的一项关于人力资源的调查显示,近一半受访组织表示,他们不会跟踪记录员工接种疫苗的情况。但是,免费疫苗、现场接种疫苗和其他补贴有助于强调公司在这一问题上的立场。运动营养和健康食品公司Clif Bar & Co.在上周宣布,接种疫苗的员工可以获得150美元的奖金。如果员工选择捐出这笔奖金,公司会把这笔钱交给致力解决农场工人健康不平等问题的Migrant Clinicians Network组织。“眼下,疫苗获取公平性问题对企业来说是一个极为重要的问题。”Clif Bar的首席执行官莎莉·格兰姆斯称:“我们国家有太多员工依然很难接种疫苗,尤其是一线工作人员。”

全球每一家企业都必须认识到新冠疫情带来的创伤

和许多提供高福利的企业一样,印孚瑟斯在过去一年推出了一系列与心理健康、自我护理、女性健康和工作/生活平衡相关的举措。

这一点十分重要,因为印度、巴西、秘鲁、尼泊尔和瑞典等国家的病例还在增加。你所在的城市或国家逐渐取消封锁,并不意味着视频会议上所有与会人员(或他们的家人)都已经脱离了危险。各地从新冠疫情中恢复的情况可能是不平衡甚至不公平的,雇主需要继续明确一点:全球劳动力是脆弱的,但同时又是紧密相连的。

强有力的新冠疫情应对措施可能有利于企业

一份商业报纸在报道印孚瑟斯新设立的新冠护理中心时肯定地指出:“这家公司86%的收入来自美国和欧洲等市场,该公司表示,目前的健康状况不会影响其向客户交付产品和服务。”

私营企业目前面临着很大的风险。我们可以承认,要想动员有效的新冠疫情应对措施,我们既要关心员工,也要关心企业。

我们每天看到的新闻头条都和印度有关,不止死亡人数和病例统计,还有更多其他新闻,例如《印度新冠危机可能导致全球经济脱轨的四大原因》和《印度新冠危机威胁全球石油产业复苏》。

我问乔治城大学(Georgetown University)的法律教授马达维·桑德,跨国企业能够做些什么,帮助世界发生进一步危机。她说有两点:第一,向旨在弥合发展中国家疫苗缺口的新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划(Covax)捐款;第二,她说:“跨国企业可以帮忙资助发展中国家的疫苗制造商,帮助其改造新冠疫苗生产工厂。我们需要通过投资帮助泰国、巴西、南非、孟加拉国和其他发展中国家现有的制造商。”

正如我们在此次疫情中看到的,发生在一个国家的灾难不会只在这一个国家肆虐。(财富中文网)

译者:钱功毅

Infosys president Ravi Kumar was trying to get global attention on vaccines last year.

“Businesses can play a pivotal role in encouraging vaccine literacy and engendering vaccination trust in the workplace,” he said in a prescient December email to me. “Building and sustaining vaccine confidence has never been more important.”

Five months later, Kumar is in the middle of an all-out war against COVID-19, but his tact and rhetoric remain the same. The bulk of Infosys’s 250,000 employees work in India, where rates of the virus are surging. Headlines report record-high numbers; 400,000 cases a day this week, and growing despair over a lack of vaccines, oxygen, and hospital beds. It’s dire.

The implications of this calamity extend far beyond India, which is what Kumar has been sounding alarms on all along. Infosys, an emblem of the global economy and India’s rise within, operates in 46 countries; Kumar is based in New York, a departure from top executives past, and Infosys has committed to hiring tens of thousands of workers in the U.S. in the next two years.

There might be no “going back” to the world we once were. Still, companies like Infosys warn the current lack of global coordination, evident in fights over patents to passports, poses a great threat to the connected workforce and economy we have become. Kumar’s approach to fighting COVID, protecting workers and business, warrants emulation by others dependent on globalization (i.e., most of us). Some lessons:

Nobody’s safe until we all are

It’s jarring to see the images from India, Brazil, and other countries fighting COVID outbreaks, as the U.S. celebrates a surplus of vaccines and circulates memos on reopening offices. Kumar reminds us not to be complacent: “It’s important to understand that with this pandemic, no one is safe unless everyone is safe,” he said. “The private sector’s role is to make sure the global economy continues to move forward, and [that] large, global employers like us can engage with our people across borders to build trust and ease public hesitancy toward vaccines.”

While the past few years, our interdependence remains: It is literally impossible to go a day without consuming a good or service that doesn’t involve the labor of people from countries other than our own.

Employers play a role in spreading that message, too. Said Kumar: “Businesses are uniquely equipped to chime in with reason and reassurance and to bring the transparency and clarity that is needed to counter the spread of distrust and fear associated with COVID-19 vaccinations.”

In the absence of rules or coordination or common sense, companies must step up

Infosys employees who travel for work have been asked to self-quarantine “irrespective of government regulations” and avoid visiting Infosys or client offices for a minimum of one week upon their arrival.

Travelers, leisure and business alike, have voiced frustration over conflicting, confusing guidance on COVID tests and quarantine restrictions. In the absence of coordination, Kumar explains, “governments are focused on their citizens, those who are largely located within a geographic border; businesses focus on their employees—no matter where they are.”

One study by TNMT, which monitors trends in travel and mobility, concludes workers will come to rely on this guidance when making decisions about travel: “Companies will need to put additional emphasis on their moral and legal obligation to protect employees.”

The same survey also said technology cannot replace business travel, which makes the urgency of fighting COVID even more imperative for a global economy. “It’s not just about being in the same room, it’s also about showing commitment. What if you are working on a multimillion-dollar contract, and propose a Zoom call, while your competitors fly out to see the potential client in person. Who do you think looks more committed?” said Wouter Geerts, a senior research analyst at Skift, a travel site.

Give employees with COVID time off

Infosys provides 21 days of additional paid leave for employees who have contracted or are recovering from COVID. Contrast that with the six to 10 days seemingly more common in U.S. workplaces, or the two weeks secured by public sector employers.

Take care of employees’ families, too

Last week, Indian newspapers reported Infosys had set up COVID care centers in offices in Pune and Bangalore, and more were on the way; some campuses also have set up vaccination centers. Notably, they are not just for workers but their families too. This holistic approach—it’s not uncommon to see entire housing colonies, hospitals, and schools built by Indian employers—is significant because it addresses a common source of COVID transmission: households and families.

It also eases vaccine distribution (a rollout which has been complicated and outright bungled in many parts of the world) by taking it to a place people are already familiar with: work.

Make vaccines free and accessible

The message over and over from Kumar, back in December, then in March and now, has been that Infosys will cover the cost of vaccines for employees. It’s about more than the money, he noted: “This is important to us because not only do we want to reduce this burden on our employees, but also because we believe that businesses have a big role to play in vaccinating the world.”

Customizing is key, said Bonnie Puckett, an employment lawyer with Ogletree Deakins, because workers around the world have different realities when it comes to COVID: Some countries are still in lockdown; others are wide open; many are in between. “The vaccine supply is quite limited in many places, and preemptive communication about mandating the vaccine or asking employees about vaccination status can come across as tone deaf,” she said. Puckett added that she is seeing companies help their workers get the vaccine whenever possible. They are trying to “secure vaccine supply for employees in the limited number of locations where this is a possibility,” she said. “And some are researching the extent to which cross-border ‘vaccine tourism’ is possible.”

Almost half of organizations in a Gartner HR survey say they won’t track employees’ vaccination status. But free vaccines, on-site vaccines, and other perks help underscore where a company stands on the issue. Clif Bar & Co. announced last week that employees will receive a $150 incentive if they get vaccinated. If they donate that amount, the company will apply the money to the Migrant Clinicians Network, which addresses farmworkers’ health inequities. “Equitable access to vaccines is an issue of paramount importance to businesses right now,” said Clif Bar CEO Sally Grimes. “Too many of our nation’s workers, especially frontline employees, still face significant hurdles to getting vaccinated.”

Every workplace in the world must acknowledge trauma

Like many companies offering enhanced benefits, Infosys has rolled out a series of initiatives over the past year related to mental health, self-care, women’s health, and work/life balance.

That’s important as countries such as India, Brazil, Peru, Nepal, and Sweden see a rise in cases. Just because your city or country is opening up does not mean the person on videoconference (or their family) is out of the woods yet. The post-COVID recovery will be an uneven, likely inequitable one, and employers need to continue to treat a global workforce as fragile—and connected.

A strong COVID response can be good for business

A business newspaper reporting on Infosys’s new COVID centers was sure to point out: “The company, which gets 86% of its revenues from markets like the U.S. and Europe, said it sees no impact on its client deliverables due to the current health situation.”

The private sector has much at stake right now, and it’s okay to admit that mobilizing effective COVID responses is as much about taking care of employees as about taking care of business.

Besides death tolls and case counts, the other daily headlines we are seeing related to India: “Four reasons why India’s COVID-19 crisis may derail the global economy” and “India’s COVID-19 crisis threatens a global oil recovery,” for example.

I asked Madhavi Sunder, a Georgetown law professor, what multinational companies (MNCs) can do to help stave off further crisis. She had two ideas. One, donate to Covax, the initiative to bridge the vaccine divide in developing countries. And two, she said, “MNCs can help pay for vaccine manufacturers in the developing world to retrofit their factories for COVID-19 vaccine production. We need to invest to help ready manufacturers in Thailand, Brazil, South Africa, Bangladesh, and other developing countries.”

As we have seen through the pandemic, what happens in one country does not stay in one country.

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