Set up a monitored tip line where supervisors can tell the govt that management isn’t giving them the proper PPE to protect their workers. That way if management isn’t giving them PPE, supervisors have a place to go turn to instead of being squeezed from both ends. Get an OSHA inspector out on a surprise trip and get upper management fined.
Supervisors need to care about their direct reports first and foremost, over any company demands. One of the best supervisors I’ve ever had gave me therapist recommendations when I mentioned having a tough time with mental health, and she told me she sometimes took personal days for her own mental health. Another supervisor, when I was going through an even more rough period of mental health, told me that his wife had bipolar and they put a lot of time and effort in, together, for her to feel alright.
I felt like I had those guys in my corner, and I knew that if push came to shove, they’d have my back. They may have ultimately been powerless to internal HR policies, but they reaffirmed to me that my health should be my top priority and I needed to put it first.
That’s what it means to have a workplace as a family. The leader truly cares about everyone on the team and has their back.