How ExxonMobil ensures the health and safety of employees during the pandemic

Due to the spread of Covid-19 and the governmental restrictions arising from the pandemic, companies in the Czech Republic are facing new challenges every day. One of them is the ExxonMobil Business Support Center, Czechia s.r.o., a Global Business Center of the multi-national corporation ExxonMobil Corporation. When the first state of emergency related to Covid-19 was declared by the Czech government on 12 March 2020, ExxonMobil responded immediately and requested employees to work from home beginning on 16 March. Only critical personnel (i.e. about 3% of the 1200 person staff) worked from the Prague office and the vast majority of employees transitioned to working from home. But even though it is nearly impossible for employees to meet face to face, ExxonMobil manages to make the best of the situation even during these challenging times.

Health and safety of employees as the highest priority

As the Covid-19 situation develops, ExxonMobil constantly makes sure that the safety measures are always aligned with the government’s regulations and that employees are safe at all times. The seating arrangements in the Prague office have been changed so there is a 2m distance between employees and the staff are provided with disinfectants and respirators, among other things.

“Health and safety of our employees is ExxonMobil’s highest priority,” says Dagmar Cisarovska, Communications Manager of the Global Business Center here in Prague. “Therefore, we do our best to minimize the possible virus transmission in the office and also encourage employees not to expose themselves to the virus in their free time.”

Helping employees who work from home

As most of the staff is working from home now, many employees had to set up new workstations at their houses and apartments. To make sure these workspaces are ergonomically suitable for a full-time job, employees can consult the ergo specialists at ExxonMobil. Furthermore, employees are provided with a monthly utility allowance to help them compensate for increased energy consumption.

And even in the time of social distancing, employees are encouraged to stay connected remotely as much as possible to keep the team spirit. “We have regular online team meetings, webinars, mental health sessions and lectures,” says Dagmar. “During these sessions, we try to incorporate some entertainment – we host online games, quizzes, and also share personal stories and learn from each other. On daily basis we have 20 minutes fitness sessions with our personal trainers to balance the many hours of online world.”

Moreover, talent development is not neglected even during the current lockdown. Both internal and external trainings are still taking place and employees can choose from a large offer of online courses.

Onboarding activities for new staff members have also been digitalized. New hires are now fully supported virtually by onboarding specialists and by their peers through the buddy program.

Wellbeing and mental health

Health and safety play an important role in the culture of ExxonMobil, and this applies to mental health too. “If employees or their immediate family members find themselves in a difficult situation, they can contact our specialists who can provide them with psychological or legal help,” says Dagmar. “Apart from that, we started a series of mental health webinars where employees can educate themselves and share their issues. Each employee is also welcome to talk to their manager to adjust their working schedule, so the employee can maintain work-life balance while supporting business needs.”

ExxonMobil takes wellbeing of its staff seriously, which is why they offer a wide range of free consulting services to employees from specialized members of the ExxonMobil team – among them are Family Advisor, Different Health Condition Advisor, Safety Advisor, and Ergonomic Specialist. You can learn more about their personal stories on the company’s social media: Facebook, Instagram.