Are we at the beginning of the end of lockdown? The office opens up on 4th August, our Netherlands colleagues have already been back at the Hilversum office for some time, real life has recommenced with restrictions (although we can probably expect at least some mini lockdowns yet to come), and the era of the Zoom quiz is nearly over… Everyone’s lockdown has been different and personally, without having any caring responsibilities for the sick or the young, I’m lucky enough to have a had a little time to reflect. I’ve been following the “Stay…” campaign closely and I have to say that in my head, bit by bit, the three messages Stay Productive, Stay Well, Stay Connected have merged into a single message – Stay Happy. And as this era recedes I’m keen not to simply drop some of the good things I’ve learnt.
Starting with Stay Well, a consistent theme seems to be that if one has a sense of some control or influence over one’s lifestyle this is very helpful for mental health. We’ve seen all kinds of demonstrations of this – linking up remotely or, latterly, in parks, taking breaks with kids, picking up new hobbies or skills. It doesn’t have to be a big thing; holidays are a good example of having control over your life for a week or two to your heart’s content, but myself I get almost as much pleasure from sneaking a cheeky coffee on the way to work while I do my emails!
As far as Staying Connected is concerned we have done an amazing job as a firm (and as a species) in re-wiring how we interact. Even if, as Jonathan’s post highlights, it’s not quite the same as a physical meeting, we have found myriad ways of staying connected and learnt some benefits of the virtual over the physical world when it comes to keeping in touch with people far away. There’s lots of talk of the future “hybrid workplace” - part physical, part remote. I prefer to think of it as a “mixed reality” workplace, but the lessons we’ve learnt about remote connection will soon need to be blended with the more traditional way we used to interact.
And – thank you to everyone – we have been Staying Productive. Everyone of us knew at the beginning of this, when there was a lot of uncertainty and worry, that if we kept Kilburn & Strode on an even keel, we’d all benefit. But remaining usefully busy has been good in other ways, providing a bit of certainty and normality during the weirdness of lockdown. Don’t forget also that we also that we actually do something that is pretty good for society – without innovation we wouldn’t be seeing a lot of the good changes we can expect to come as we invent our way out of coronavirus, for example.
Bringing it all together, we have been through an astonishing period of complete change and, by the looks of things, will make it out okay. Whether we go forward into a new normal or a new weird, we can expect that some of the “old ways” will stick but there will certainly be a shift in balance with some of the lessons we have learnt over the last few months. Now is a fantastic opportunity to look at what we’ve learnt about our capacity for change and our ability to adapt our living and working practices when we have to, and apply that to thinking how might this pan out in the future. Put another way, ask yourself: “from what I’ve now seen, in future, how would I like to work?”
We need to stay well, stay connected, and stay productive whether or not we’re in lockdown. Let’s use what we’ve learnt since March to consider how we can create a working life we love and get that sense of control and influence that is so central to our wellbeing. So, have a think about it. Stay Well, Stay Productive, Stay Connected… and Stay Happy!
Take me back to the #StayHub ►