Develop an implementation plan to assist in its attempt to achieve a semblance of normalcy. Include the specific objectives of the plan, the strategies to achieve each objective and the implementation dates for each strategy. For each strategy, explain how it will achieve the objective. Use the applicable social psychology concepts and theories to support your explanations.

 

Answer:

The COVID-19 pandemic at this stage in 2020 has led to the development of exponential growth in the outbreak leading to the development of widespread social distancing and physical movement restriction to control the spread. These strategies could be very beneficial to stop the fast worldwide spread of the disease; however, it can also have a negative influence among individuals, societies, and communities by eradication of economic and social life leading to affect the socially disadvantaged and economically weaker section as these individuals mainly depend upon their daily wage occupations and business dealings which are the source of food and income for the family. Because of such reasons, the government of some countries is beginning to unlock their states and cities slowly one by one but the individuals in these states have to follow the required strategies and control measures to maintain economic flow with sufficient safety and health protocol. The plan that I would present here would be based upon intervention strategies in organizations which could help the individuals to reduce chances of risk infection because, during the phase of unlocking, the organizations in the countries would be in the highly risky state as most of the individuals in the metropolitan cities would start going to their offices and work to realize normalcy, however, normalcy without precautionary measures would not prove to be 'real' normalcy during the pandemic situation. The theory of Social Learning by Bandura and Tajfel's Social Identity theory would be very beneficial to understand the implications of these measures in the plan. 

Step-by-step explanation

The main objective of our plan is to- 

• Mobilize the organizations to participate in preventive and safety measures. 
• Control the prevention of community spread.
• Suppress and reduce its effects by ensuring and providing proper health care services.
• Development of strategic measures to ensure help from the organization. 

The plan strategies could be as follows:

1.Infectious preparedness plan:

Steps for the following plan-

a. An assessment regarding how and where there are chances of high-risk exposure to the disease.

b. Building awareness regarding risk factors at home and community settings.

c. The individual risk factors of the workers.

d. The measures are taken by the organization to reduce such risks.

According to the Social learning theory by Bandura, individuals are more likely to model social behavior which they observe around and in their surroundings. Hence, the effectiveness of the steps taken can be enhanced if the organization presents behavioral implications of the measures through a live presentation where they would witness the effectiveness of the steps through futuristic implications how individuals can be benefited from implementation; which would make it easier for the employees to model similar behavior learned during the presentation. 

2. Sanitation and hygiene products plan within the organization:

Steps and requirements-

a. Providing the best hand-wash and soap products.

b. Providing hand sanitizer in the office in multiple locations.

c. Sanitation of office spaces.

d. Placing wall posters, signboards, and televisions in office spaces to where hygiene practices are presented visually to individuals. 

3. Workplace control plan:

Steps and required control measures-

a. Generation of engineering control through the implementation of high functioning air filters. Providing sneeze guards. 

b. Administrative control would include -encouraging the employers to maintain distance even in the office, keeping the employers up-to-date regarding the safety and precautionary measures, and providing proper training with help of a medical professional regarding hygiene measures.

c. Providing free sanitizers, gloves, and medications if required.

4. No discrimination plan:

Steps-

a. The employees should be provided a daily presentation and inspirational quotes expressing the requirement of non-judgmental attitude and non-stereotypes regarding employees who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease and have returned to work.

b. Generating presentations and small videos which make employees aware of the negative effects of discrimination upon the psychological health of the other person.

c. Providing online discussion platforms to recovered individuals as a ground to discuss their experiences with the deadly disease, so that other employees can empathize.

The Social Identity theory by Tajfel describes, when people belong to the majority group; they tend to become more aware of the in-group and out-group bias, where they become more favorable towards the members of their group. This shows, that there is a highly likely chance that the few or at least one or two individuals who suffered from COVID-19 would be made to feel an out-group by other individuals in the society. This can have severe negative impact and development of a prevalent stereotype in the organization setting, which needs to be controlled by making all the individual employees aware of the implications of such negative behavior upon the psychological well-being of the recovered person. 

The above-stated combination of plan and required steps can help an organization to maintain normalcy with reduced risk of the virus in the work setting. 

References:

Return-to-Work best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. (n.d.). JD Supra. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/return-to-work-best-practices-during-26629/.

Social psychology. (n.d.). Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html.