Covid-19 Impact Forces Key Personnel to Return to Work
Chinese financial institutions are increasingly urging their employees to return to the office as absenteeism surges due to the country’s ongoing Covid-19 crisis, which is severely impacting operations.
Sinolink Securities has issued a directive for employees who had been sick or in quarantine for seven days to return to work if they no longer exhibit Covid symptoms. Employees whose family members have tested positive but who remain healthy themselves are also being asked to resume work at the office, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg. This follows reports of an unusually low attendance rate, which has posed significant operational challenges.
A media representative from Sinolink, based in Shanghai, confirmed that the company remains focused on employee welfare, workplace safety, and ensuring business continuity.
Over the weekend, one fund management company relaxed its earlier policy requiring employees to present a negative Covid test result within 72 hours before returning to the office. Instead, department heads have been instructed to ensure that enough staff are present to maintain business operations.
In an unusual move, two asset management firms have permitted Covid-infected traders to work remotely for the first time, though with a significant condition. These employees are required to install surveillance cameras at home to monitor their trading activities when they are well enough to return to work.
These measures come amidst a sharp increase in Covid infections, with estimates nearing 37 million cases in a single day last week, according to China’s top health authority. The country’s rapid abandonment of Covid Zero policies has allowed the highly contagious Omicron variant to spread uncontrollably, particularly in a population with low immunity levels, further straining the nation’s economy.
