As Covid-19 continues to ravage the country, along with the surge of the highly contagious Omicron variant, more companies, schools, and organizations face pushback from workers who are mandated to return to work in person.
Recently, a former UWM employee complained to Fox News affiliate reporters that the company was not doing enough to protect its workforce. UWM CEO Mat Ishbia has stated in previous interviews that he prefers his workers in the office to focus on team building. However, other big name lenders are proving to the industry that it’s possible to maintain efficiency while working from home.
Fairway Independent Mortgage continues to allow its employees to choose whether to return to the office or not.
“Fairway implemented a work-from-home policy immediately after Covid hit in March of 2020,” said Julie Fry, Fairway’s chief human resources officer. “We’ve continued to assure our teammates that the decision to return to the office is theirs and theirs alone.” More than 80 percent of Fairway employees continue to work from home.”
Fairway keeps their employees’ minds and bodies fit by providing exercise machines to employees with more than a year of service, and allows them to work from home. The company distributed 5,828 machines at a cost of $19.6 million. Fairway also offers virtual fitness classes for employees and their families, as well as parenting webinars and extensive mental health resources.
Additionally, Fairway has granted employees extra time off during the pandemic to deal with Covid-related challenges. This time off didn’t reduce an employee’s standard PTO.
The CEO of Fairway, Steve Jacobson, has demonstrated his care and attention to his workforce by sending out daily messages of encouragement. Anticipating that employees will want to stay updated as the pandemic ensues, Fairway holds regular Covid update calls, including special guest experts, during which teammates can ask questions and receive answers. Fairway also maintains a dedicated email address employees can use to ask Covid-specific questions any time of day.
Fairway Cares, also known as Fairway’s non-profit charitable arm, continued to distribute financial assistance and care packages to individuals and families dealing with critical illness, physical trauma, or the loss of a loved one. During the outbreak of Covid-19, Fairway Cares delivered more than 200 nutrition bundles to frontline workers, and over the past two years, the non-profit distributed 728 financial grants and 3,773 care packages to those in need.
“The flexibility that Fairway has shown in allowing employees to return to the office or remain at home has greatly reduced stress,” said Amy Slotnick, senior vice president at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. “Knowing that going back to the office was my choice and not a forced mandate gave me the freedom to decide what was best for me and my family. From the start of the pandemic, Fairway has supported its employees’ health, both physical and mental, above all else.”
