The past 18 months has been like no other period in our lifetime. It has taken a huge amount of resolve, commitment, and dedication to even make it this far.
For many, this has meant substantial periods of time being spent on their own. Everyone has had to dig deep to sustain any kind of normality in our lives and perhaps even step outside of our comfort zone when we don’t really want to.
Reports suggest that many companies simply expected their staff to slip effortlessly into the new normal work routine. Some even presumed their employees would be happy to be able to work from home.
The adult industry workers certainly bucked that trend, as a large proportion of them were unable to work from home. Those that could found the idea of living and working in the same space extremely difficult. Others were made to come into a workplace which did not provide adequate safeguards, or health and safety measures.
Fortunately, some companies realised very quickly that keeping their ‘work force’ happy and healthy was key to not only sustaining business but to actually grow it.
On-Line Support
Offering help 24/7 has always been key to providing the right kind of support to those people who are essentially the backbone of a business. ‘Office Hours Only’ support services show little regard for the people who are expected to work 24/7.
Even worse perhaps are those who offer the support using people who have little, or no understanding of the services involved. Many also make the mistake of not understanding the difference between Support and Customer Services.
The simple fact that many adult workers are unable to seek support from family or friends, makes the provision of a support network even more important.
Showing that they Care
Hopefully, the company you work for are bending over backwards to help you, or perhaps providing you with the direction, to obtain the support you need.
Not all companies have the professional ‘know how’ to be able to offer the correct type of help. They can however do some research and ensure their workers get the right guidance to ensure well-being for all.
HR (Human Resources) are normally in charge of administering employee benefit programmes. It is an area which a number of companies seem to ignore or place little importance to. Perhaps they forget that profit only comes when the people making the income are happy in their work.
The Insider Info
I’ve spoken to a number of companies, models and industry spokespersons and asked them to fill me in on the initial and their latest strategies. (To enable a fair review of both positive and negative responses, the providers remain anonymous).
“We increased our technical team back in April 2020 when many countries were starting to implement full lockdown procedures. We figured that it was a good time to give our users more options on the site. We also supplied a number of our models with technical hardware, such as laptops and webcams. It enabled us to understand what it meant to be working from home”. (Technical Support Manager – Cams)
“Our studio manager told us everything was to carry on as normal. I had to make a very difficult decision as I live at home with my elderly parents. I couldn’t risk passing on the virus to them, so I left. They kept my last payment. I now work on a virtual helpline service. I don’t make anywhere near the same amount of money but at least myself and my family are safe”. (Studio Model)
“Our support team increased by 400% almost overnight. We realised how important it was for the team to have a full understanding of the services we were running. We enlisted both supervisors and model managers, gave them CS (Customer Service) training and installed Apps on their devices so they could work from anywhere”. (HR Department – Cams)
“The company I work for decided to drop weekly payment to save costs. I didn’t receive any communication from them about it. By the time they answered me, my rent was unpaid and my direct debits for electric and internet also not paid. They said they needed to save costs during the pandemic! I nearly lost my home and my life.
I eventually found a support group who were able to give me financial advice and help me to get back to some kind of normal. My advice would be to check the history of any company you are thinking of working with. Make sure they do really care and are able to treat you as an individual”. (Cam Model UK)
“We decided to offer all our models the option of either working from home or to have their own room in our studios, to work from. Anyone that decided to come into the studio were provided with a chauffeur driven car from a firm we hired on an exclusive contract. We hired specially trained cleaners for the studio.
The models that chose to work from home were all given equipment and support to enable them to continue working the hours they were used to doing. In fact, this special care and attention meant our models increased their earnings by + 12%. It’s a business model we will look at continuing even after the pandemic is over (whenever that may be)”. (Studio Manager EU)
They do say when ‘push comes to shove’, most will show their true colours. The amount of support being given by some of the top Cam companies and studios has certainly proven its worth. Those who have decided to ignore the plight of their own workers will no doubt be able to continue for the time being. However, in the long term, things may not be so rosy for them.
Adult workers (in particular those working from home) should be given the help and respect they deserve. After all, they are the first to shout from the roof tops about companies that do not treat them fairly.
There are a number of groups providing advice and support to independent cam models and for sex workers.
Pineapple Support provide emotional support and FREE or subsidized therapy for all On-Line Sex Workers who have been active in the last 6 months. You can find out all about the inspiration behind the creation of the organisation in my article.
Wecamgirls offers a lot of useful resource and is also probably one of the most well-known Community and Forum for Cam Girls, Guys and Content Creators. Check out the insider info in my article and see how they can help you.
Feel free to contact me or any of the above organisations if you need support or help at any time, now or in the future.
Stay Safe
Love Carla x
