Tag: remote working

On 29 April 2020, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, published regulations in terms of the National Disaster Management Act which regulate the Alert Level 4 conditions during the COVID-19 national disaster.

Cyber security and privacy risks should be the top priority for any business at present, especially whilst trying to accommodate all staff in their new remote working environments. In the rush to get everybody working from home, security probably wasn’t top of mind and this presents a major threat for many businesses and people working from home for the first time.

COVID-19 has turned into a global crisis, evolving at unprecedented speed and scale. Experts don’t know how long it will take to contain the virus so businesses are challenged with not only preparing for the short-term, but also developing new capabilities and ways of working that will seamlessly enable longer-term changes to how they operate.

The globe is on lockdown at the moment as we all face the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is a time which is creating a lot of fear, anxiety and uncertainty in the workplace. It is not just with people now having to work from home, but for those who have pursued new job opportunities and received job offers to start during or after lockdown, and now face a highly unnerving state of anxiety about if they will start or not or if their offers will be withdrawn or if they should even hand in their resignations.

COVID-19, the virus which is shaking the world — is rapidly increasing the number of employees who work remotely. This mass exodus of employees from the 'more secure' office environment into the unsecured home terrain is a breeding ground for cyber security risk. 

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc amongst us, not because it’s causing global physical and economic meltdown, but for exacerbating another pandemic we’ve been dealing with for decades: loneliness. Science has long recognised that loneliness is emotionally painful and can lead to a host of side effects including heart disease, stroke, cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Renewed emphasis on digitalisation as a key strategy for sustainability is placing pressure on CIOs to ensure corporate systems are resilient. One certainty that has emerged from the COVID-19 crisis is that organisations embarking on digitalisation were better prepared to respond to the crisis.

The world we left behind when we entered lockdown will be very different to the world we walk into after the devastating effects of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented test of our resilience and demands during these uncertain times that we find ourselves in.

Many employers are asking their teams to work from home, while entrepreneurs who would usually work from a shared space are working from home. This is in order to reduce the risk of employees contracting the COVID-19 virus and adhere to the national lockdown. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world with devastating speed and there is no doubt that small businesses will be the hardest hit. Although we are hoping for everything to get back to normal and finally get to put all the anxiety, fear, and tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, no one knows how severe the economy will get impacted or how long the recovery process will take.