KEY QUESTIONS WE ARE ASKING DURING CORONA…

APRIL 7, 2020

Virtual World without Boundaries

The Coronavirus pandemic has dominated the world’s headlines, social media, day to day conversations and almost every aspect of our lives for most of the last month, and with imposed social -distancing and isolation, the country has had to adjust.

Adjustments to all our personal lives, namely absence for once routine things like the match on Saturday, a trip to our favourite coffee shop, the gym, schools and meeting family and friends…I could go on.

For those of us that are working, our professional lives have also been turned upside down. Transitioning from working in a particular construct, pattern and timeframe to autonomy, freedom and isolation. And I am one of the lucky ones in that I am able to work from home, for others who cannot, then these are very anxious times indeed.

Industries and sectors such as tourism, hospitality and entertainment have been decimated with forced closures or a catastrophic drop in sales. It is clear that many organisations are unable to cope with the impact of this horrible virus.

Sadly, many have either lost their jobs or will be shortly. The others placed on furlough as a direct result.

The country has been moved by the work that the NHS and other key workers have performed on the front line, whilst we have been asked to simply stay at home to save lives. To most of the nation’s credit we have adjusted with changes to our lives, swiftly coming to terms with how things are, and how to keep moving forwards.

As someone with a wonderful wife and 2 children (one 4 and the other 18 months), self-isolation felt strange and intense, all underpinned with a large dose of anxiety. At the beginning, many questions ran through my head — How do I keep my family healthy? What happens to their nursery and pre-school? Will my wife’s offer of her new role stand? How do I do what I need to do for CandidateX whilst balancing my family’s needs? Will they void the Premier League — rendering my beloved Liverpool’s efforts to nothing?!

I’m sure I’m not alone wrestling with their internal monologue!

That feeling of anxiety soon gave way to what is now a reflective period. It has been wonderful to experience the time with my children in ways I hadn’t thought I would. To share and influence their education with daily lessons, PE with Joe and Cosmic Yoga (it’s great check it out!). To truly give thanks to things I took for granted. I cannot wait to go grab a ticket for a band, go for a meal, have a pint poured and of course to see my friends and hug my mum and dad. When this is all over, I may become Jim Carrey’s Yes Man.

And through all this turmoil and chaos, it’s been reassuring to see all the connections being made. You can’t go on social media and miss the screenshots of the Zoom calls or of the House Party App! Technology has been pivotal in maintaining contact, engagement and sustaining relationships.

There are many posts from people offering help to those that need it — be it the vulnerable who need their shopping picked up, medicine dropped off or financial and accommodation assistance to those in the NHS. It’s been heart-warming and much needed after how divisive Brexit has been.

The latest reports indicate it will be this way for 3–6 months (maybe longer) before we can get back to a semblance of “normal”.

With such a prolonged period ahead of us, we at CandidateX are discussing what the working-world will look like on the other side of this, and in particular how it might be through a diversity and inclusion lens?

The virus has been a profound equaliser — treating all of us the same. This should act as a stark reminder to all of us that now more than ever we need to level the playing field in the workplace, but when things return to normality, will businesses adapt or revert?

In a wider sense, if we stay remote for a considerable time, how will we juggle family commitments and work demands when they are essentially in the same place now?

We all have built incredible bonds and friendships at work, but how will this now look — will we lose that engagement and interaction? Will we as humans become more siloed and lose that skill of networking for instance?

Leadership — how will this change? Will we see a new breed of management? Leaders who do not lead by imposing themselves physically but ones who are more in tune to social responsibilities and the subtleties of leading disparate workforces…visionaries.

We will be discussing the above and more to understand the impact this will have on the people in work, their mental health, expectations, working habits and methods in a series of shows on the forthcoming CandidateX Podcast.

When we get through this, I for one believe there will be some changes in ways we work that will be permanent.

Join CandidateX to find out more as we discover insight from various perspectives on this new world.

For now, we hope this virtual world that we are working under, will be one without boundaries.

Stay safe and look out for one another