Safwan Shah, CEO of PayActiv and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. Board Member, spoke with us about how we can help our most financially vulnerable workers during this unprecedented time in history. Here are the key takeaways: 

We will be alright. 

It’s easy to get caught up in remembering what things were like before COVID-19, but now is the time to think about the future. In these uncertain times, it may seem there is no path forward, but that’s not true. Safwan suggests, “The future has no streetlights, but we know the road.” We can be comforted knowing that the necessary systems to recover are all in place, our  doctors and nurses and essential workers are rising to the challenge, and we are finally seeing signs that the curve is flattening in countries first impacted by COVID-19. 

Access should be on-demand.

America represents freedom, and to Safwan, freedom is access: Access to our rights, access to food, access to justice, and so on. Because of COVID-19, we are experiencing an unprecedented lack of access to so many essentials right now, including food, jobs, and even to other people. And while we are all in this together, COVID-19 hurts the vulnerable the most: the elderly/ill and the people who are financially vulnerable. One hundred million Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and payroll is typically a two-week process so oftentimes, workers don’t have access to the funds they need to pay their bills despite already having earned that money. PayActiv offers a solution to this problem, enabling millions of Americans to thrive by giving them access in real-time to their hard earned money.

Purpose-based businesses will find innovative ways to serve humanity through this crisis.

PayActiv solves an obvious problem, and yet , like so many systems and processes we take for granted, the problem had been embedded into the system for as long as there has been payroll. Safwan questioned the system and found a solution that he was able to implement. Right now, more than ever, purpose-driven leaders must be looking for innovative opportunities to provide solutions that can serve humanity through this crisis. Already we see businesses creatively solving problems like GM transitioning to making ventilators, and cab drivers in New York City providing services to get essential staff to hospitals while public transportation is reduced. In what other ways can you create more access for your stakeholders given your current set of resources?

*PayActiv is one tool you might be able to utilize in your company to better support your hourly workers now and post-COVID-19 as well. For more information, please visit https://www.payactiv.com.