Every Friday, John Ross, president and CEO at Mission Linen Supply, Santa Barbara, CA, kicks off his COVID-19 response team meeting with the same question: “Who has good news?”

His goal is to communicate a sense of optimism during this health crisis, says Sean Hearn, Mission’s director of employee relations. The linen, uniform and facility services company supports hospitality, healthcare and industrial companies in 32 locations throughout California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico.

Hearn says this strategy also helps in other ways: it prevents emotional spikes among Mission’s 2,000-plus employees, while reminding them that the pandemic is temporary, and ...