TO ALL FRONT-LINE & ESSENTIAL WORKERS – I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A HUGE, HUGE – THANK YOU!
TO ANYONE WHO HAS LOST SOMEONE DUE TO COVID-19 OR SIMPLY LOST SOMEONE THEY LOVE RECENTLY, OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO YOU & YOUR FAMILIES. WE SYMPATHIZE AND OFFER OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES.
Business as usual? I think NOT! I recently read an article that mentioned a certain industry going back to business-as-usual. I also spoke or witnessed certain behaviors in the community that have me a little irritated and concerned about our future. I get that we need to show our brave faces and I’m certainly the eternal positive, but PLEASE!! Let’s get real, our new normal, is not going back to what was, but change will be inevitable. If we don’t take a significant lesson from this pandemic, then I am at a loss for words. Seriously, how can things go back to normal and how can it be business as usual? There were so many lives lost globally, countless people impacted and so much sacrifice in the last several days, weeks, months. If only, for those people on the front-lines, essential workers and for those who do follow the rules of self-quarantine and proper social-distancing, that we cannot afford to go back to business as usual!
It takes approximately 21 days to break a habit or routine, so I think we are way past that but we cannot just continue doing the same things and change will be the only driver that keeps us thriving. I have worked closely in the technology space for over 15 years now and we often hear about new business strategies with pitch phrases like “let’s get disruptive”, “let’s go digital”, and the latest buzz is in Artificial Intelligence (AI), so if we can do all those initiatives in the tech space, I know we can disrupt our workplace habits. At Expertis, we had already gone virtual in our meetings/interviews (Skype, Zoom, Google hang-outs, etc…), we were already working remotely with offices downtown in a shared co-working space. If you can work remotely, why wouldn’t you? I believe that it will definitely become the new normal in the future as we adapt and learn to create work environments within our homes. At Expertis, we already limited our carbon foot-print, we save so much money on our overhead costs and real-estate expenses are minimal. We were already trying to do our small part, change the status quo, even when some folks looked at us awkwardly for doing so, but now businesses will be forced into making those changes. So, look to disrupt, go digital, and try to automate what you can! Because, if you don’t take this as a serious indicator for change, well then, you will never learn. Such a hard lesson, I say…
It will never be business as usual and we need to think about how we can impact our environment for the future. You might ask, what are Employees expecting when they return to work? CHANGE!
As always, please be safe & stay healthy!
Nancy
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Some useful links for both Employers and Employees:
Quebec Information and services for businesses & self-employed workers