Abstract
Background: COVID-19, had taken the world by surprise and Namibia is no exception. The pandemic has caused a great deal of uncertainty and pressing issues that require thoughtful people-first responses. Most companies, Organizations, and government institutions were caught off guard and confused in making decisions on how to keep their working environment, healthy and safe for employees and clients. Some organizations did not have any Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) that aid in decision making particularly phenomena that halt the normal continuation of business activities. Organizations that have BCPs in place were able to implement it and decide on whether to allow their employees to work from the office or to work remotely, which was a small percentage of the population that opted for this option, as it requires a lot of planning and technology to achieve it.
Objective: This study’s main objective was to assess the effects of COVID-19 on occupational health and safety and business continuity at the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN). To achieve the aim of the study, the researcher evaluated the implications of COVID-19 on occupational health and safety operational activities and business continuity as well as reviewing policies relating to emergency preparedness and business continuity in an event of a communicable disease outbreak.
Method: This was a descriptive case study, and the study used quantitative methodology. The sample size was determined using EPI INFO Version 7.2 with an estimated population of 126 employees of the DBN, a confidence level of 99%, an acceptable error margin of 5%, 1 cluster, and an expected frequency of 50%. The estimated sample size was 116.
Results: Approximately 84.3% of the participants indicated that there was a business continuity plan in place. On contrary, 10% of the respondents indicated that they were not certain if the organization had a business continuity plan existed. Only 6% of the responses were unaware of the business plan put in place by DBN. Those that were aware, have indicated that they believed the BCP was only implemented during a COVID-19 pandemic and not for disease outbreak disasters or pandemics that may occur. Overall, 93% of the participants indicated that the DBN took the required steps to stop the COVID-19 infection from spreading and they have confidence in the DBN's ability to manage any other challenging situation of the same nature. 70% of survey respondents would prefer to continue working from home because doing so would keep them secure from the virus. However, 28% of the respondents remained convinced that working in an office will allow them to be productive and comfortable while doing so. Only 5% of respondents said they would prefer both options of working settings.
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Using a nominal regression technique, the effectiveness of the policies and plans to address extreme actions was also assessed. The test returned a p-value of 0.215, indicating that the implemented strategies were still insufficient to guarantee the workers' safety and productive outcomes. Moreover, the regression analysis produced 95% confidence ranges for every executed plan, and none of these intervals had zero values, demonstrating that none of the implemented plans influenced how extreme measures were handled.
Conclusion: The Namibian Development Bank performed a fantastic job of formulating policies to handle COVID-19. Although the policies were not particularly well-liked, employees indicated confidence in DBN's ability to resolve all concerns. However, the executed plans needed to be reviewed and standardized to focus on any viral pandemic or potential measures as well as COVID-19 information dissemination. In conclusion, there were some assurances of the workers' safety. The business continuity strategy was well-known and successfully carried out to ensure the workers' safety at the workplace.