By Malia Labrousse
I distinctly remember the panic that flooded through my body when I heard conflict starting at the register. My coworker, just starting out at her 2nd or 3rd job, had asked a customer politely to put their mask on while ordering. Met with disdain and anger, she tried to recover the situation as the man stormed around the front of the store, eventually leaving in a fit as if he didn’t just antagonize a 17-year-old.
I started working when I was 16, and I am lucky enough to say that most of the jobs I have worked in have taken the proper precautions to keep the staff safe. Working in service industry jobs, there are plenty of unexpected hazards that young workers are vulnerable to, seen and unseen. Sharp objects, heating elements, tripping hazards, slippery floors, and hazardous chemicals/gasses just to name a few. Never in my life did I expect to add a global pandemic to that list.
COVID-19 has exacerbated certain hazards, putting young workers at risk for exposure, mistreatment, and job insecurity, in addition to pre-existing difficulties. Much like your everyday safety hazards, these present a plethora of visible or invisible risks to young employees, but the scariest part remains unseen. How do you navigate something intangible, and life threatening? With a gas leak, you can evacuate customers and staff from your store until the problem is resolved, but that’s not necessarily possible with a virus that could be anywhere.
Part of creating a safe place to work for your employees entails creating a supportive line of communication with your workers. This is increasingly difficult in the novel landscape we are faced with—working from home or working in a faster paced environment to meet demand leaves you with little time to establish a relationship. In these times, however, it is imperative and can be done in a variety of ways.
Discussing potential risks with your young employee is important, but also talk with them about the measures your business is putting in place to protect them and their coworkers. Prepare them adequately by providing them with information about what to do if they get sick, or if a customer will not wear their mask, or even their options if they are immunocompromised. This is the first time we’ve all experienced this in our lifetime, so being anxious about the unknown is valid, but giving them proper procedures to handle these uncertainties can ease their worries.
Another difficult aspect of being a young worker through COVID is some of us are ill-equipped to handle the kind of conflict that comes with a highly politicized pandemic. As someone with potentially limited work experience how can you be expected to police a mask mandate, or temperature taking with grace while handling a volatile and unexpected reaction from a customer?
Many young workers are on the front lines of this, facing these kinds of social hazards every day through the pandemic. Providing emotional support and establishing a trusting connection with your employees can help ease nervousness or fear around this. Knowing that your manager, or shift lead has your back in the event of an emergency can make all the difference when handling conflict in an unpredictable situation. COVID-19 has made a significant impact on workplace environments and overall safety. Making sure your young workers and staff are protected could change everything.
Malia Labrousse-Katsuda is the Safety and Health Intern with SAIF corporation, and a recent Oregon State University graduate in Public Health Management and Policy (B.Sc.). In her role she has helped create materials for policyholders, shadowed Safety professionals in the field and assisted in developing leadership projects. As a young worker herself, she has had experience in food service, clerical work, retail and as a barista. Her background has influenced her passion for protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. In her free time, she loves to go to the gym and experiment with cooking different types of food.
