We hear the phrase we must be “socially responsible” a lot nowadays, especially with the spread of COVID-19. But what does it mean to be socially responsible?
On March 12, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the COVID-19 outbreak became a pandemic, and as of today, more than 3,000,000 people have been infected across the world. Public figures and business owners are donating millions, celebrities, and news outlets are asking the public to be socially responsible during the pandemic. But what does being socially responsible mean? In this article, I will focus on the social responsibility of individuals as commonly practiced in business.
‘Social Responsibility’ is known in the business world as Corporate Social Responsibility, a multidimensional construct that focuses on the welfare and interest of the society in which it operates[1]. Being socially responsible applies to individuals as it does to businesses.
Now, let’s breakdown the facts: COVID-19 [2]is a disease caused by a virus known as Coronavirus as most of us have heard. A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease[3]. What makes that so dangerous? After all, don’t we always get the flu? Well, no one has immunity to it yet nor do we have a cure at the moment. Although we can treat the symptoms, we do not have a vaccine for the underlying cause, and the speed in which it spreads is clear to all. Precautions? That’s where responsibility comes in.
In Corporate Social Responsibility, we are first taught to start in-house with our responsibility and ensure that tasks are properly done. So on an organizational level, we make sure that organizations practice effective, clear, measurable, and ethical procedures in-house. Accordingly, on an individual scale, we need to ensure that we and those we are responsible for, i.e., children or elderly, are following and practicing precautionary measures such as wearing face masks, washing our hands, keeping physical distances and so on. When we ensure we and those we are responsible for are practicing those measures, this makes us socially responsible.
In the midst of it all, it may be difficult to see the lessons being learned and the role we are taking up. But the efforts to stay safe and support others should not be taken lightly, whether it be creating PPE or reusable masks, sharing and cooking meals, landlords delaying rent for the residents, or following the instructed precautionary guidelines. Social responsibility is commonly misunderstood as philanthropy, but it is action and practice above the promotion of causes and charity.
References
[1] http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-responsibility.html
[2] https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it
[3] https://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/pandemic/en/
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“Social responsibility is commonly misunderstood as philanthropy” is a good point! I think it’s also worth highlighting the importance of social responsibility for individuals who don’t have family members or others near by. Their decisions, which may seem harmless as a lone individual, could impact those in their community with grater consequence than expected.