The past year and a half unfolded differently than business leaders envisioned when most workplaces shuttered or moved to remote work at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Though the global business landscape is inherently dynamic, few could have imagined the multi-dimensional challenges of a deadly pandemic, or how quickly it would dramatically alter entire segments of the economy. Now, as vaccination rates climb, public health measures are eased, and workers return to many offices, executives face both enduring and emergent security challenges that require a new approach.
While return-to-work conversations at many businesses have centered on vaccination, health mitigations, and revised remote work policies, executives must consider the second- and third-order effects of the pandemic on their business, recognizing that familiar challenges like workplace violence and employee wellbeing await in a new, evolved form due to COVID-19. Put differently, the threat landscape has become more perilous in the past year, with national crime rates rising and active shooter incidents continuing along a worrying upward trajectory. Executives must adapt to this elevated threat…
