My stream of consciousness as I reflect on what I have observed during this pandemic
- Self isolation and physical distancing have brought about feelings of nostalgia and better times that passed by.
- People feel the need to reach out to loved ones including those who they haven’t spoken to in a while.
- Some feel the need to overcompensate (e.g. say more, work longer hours than what they usually do) in the absence of in-person interaction
- It takes 66 days to cultivate a habit. Does this mean in a pandemic (self isolation/lockdown state) for two months, people have changed? (e.g.I have become a homebody and learnt to enjoy my own company and don’t need to socialise) Or has this just unearthed their true self out in the open (e.g. 'if I am a homebody, I stay a homebody – I didn’t know I was before this.)
- Organisations have embraced digital channels of communication and technology platforms like zoom to stay connected with their workforce.
- That being said, let’s be real, online interaction cannot and will never completely ‘replace’ authentic Face to Face interaction.
But what about?
- Those serendipitious organic rituals (e.g. water cooler conversations, a team huddle post a big presentation to discuss how we thought it went, a quick appreciative thank you for a job well done)
- At the end of an abrupt Zoom call, do we truly feel that sense of ‘closure’ or does it make us feel more isolated than ever. Perhaps we need to schedule in ‘decompression times’ those times when you would reflect on the day during your commute (which doesn’t exist anymore). But how do we encourage those decompression times while being conscious of the beauty of serendipity and chance.
In summary,
I don’t like the phrase ‘this is the new normal’. We need to challenge what our notion of normal’ really is. In my opinion, this too is a phase, could be a long phase, but it’s here regardless to teach us a thing or two.
As I heard from a speaker in a webinar I recently attended: 'It would be a shame if things went back to normal'. Probably considered a controversial statement by many, considering what is happening in the world right now. However, by this we really mean, it would be a shame if people went back to behaving the way some of us did before.
- Organisations have started trusting their workforce more and realise that people can be counted on to get the work done from home (for those occupations atleast where work from home is a possibility.)
- We have learnt to appreciate the things we might take for granted (i.e. our family and friends, our good health, travel, our relationship with nature - those hikes in the wilderness, those swims in beaches).
- For a wanderluster like me, who has been in an always-on planning mode, planning my next travel and adventure, I feel like a bird whose wings have been chopped off. I have had my highs and lows during this pandemic as well but what it has done is given me the opportunity to self-reflect. Get comfortable with ambiguity, immerse myself in that reflective state. Spend more time with myself. Discovering who I am, what are the values I live by, what I really want and what my priorities are.
It’s in fact in the very innately human characteristics of being agile, resilient and adaptive in the face of adversity that will see us through this time.
