As we move into the 12th week of shutdown and lockdown in the UK, some part of life now seems like the new routine but there are changes being implemented this week to see our lives returning with adjustments to the old normal. This is not likely to happen overnight and therefore humans, organisations and society will return different and with varying levels to these increased freedoms and enticements to ‘get the economy going’. For our healthcare workers and key workers, they have been working throughout this pandemic and therefore, hopefully, will not have more strains than the present and will remain as resilient as we go into the next phase as other countries have in the last few weeks. This virus has not made us all resilient – it has shown the cracks, the weaknesses and the fragile areas where it has won us over as we collectively and personally struggled to cope in very challenging times – be it the politics, economy, social and health care system etc. The last few weeks have been an endurance test as we are protected for our own health, safety and wellbeing in our homes.
I met with friends for a chat via a Zoom meeting – one friend is a nurse and reminded me how privileged I am working from home, getting on full pay for now and having a home with a garden in a nice part of London! I was certainly in accord to my position compared to other people are furloughed, redundant, far away from loved ones, alone, vulnerable, stuck in indoors, don’t have access to green spaces and who are in other desperate situations during this pandemic. It is with great respect and admiration that I heard first-hand stories of her working with colleagues who had the virus and who are treating patients in a COVID-19 ward. They are exhausted, very busy and only just getting some relief after the peak of the pandemic – however, we also had a ‘wait and see’ discussion about the ‘second wave’ as more and more people go about socialising in the era of ‘social distancing’. Personally, I can give beauty spots a miss and have stuck to local areas to exercise and for relaxation.
In my book club via Zoom conferencing, I have now heard from neighbours who have lost relatives and more of us know someone who has contacted or even died of Covid-19. The sheer numbers of official deaths due to COVID-19 has been staggering to see in the last few weeks and the UK is undoubtedly one of the countries with the highest deaths in the world. Therefore, this will have a real impact on personal and professional interests and does have effects on our psychological and physical wellbeing. I have seen many examples of people trying to keep up with the changes we need to survive and stay clear from the dangers of the virus. There are also personal fears and anxieties that are very valid with so many changes in the way we live, work, play and…socialise with other people outside our own household. Therefore it is very important that we seek ways to maintain our good mental, physical wellbeing and develop resilience. I will shortly be doing a course on resilience but hopefully, I am practising this in my own little ways.
A couple of weeks ago we held a SLA Europe webinar with tips on how information professionals are coping in a pandemic, and due to direct feedback, we also programmed a follow-up event on managing stress in a different working environment as government and organisation make plans to facilitate employees back into their workplaces. In May, it was also Mental Awareness Week, which helped a conversation that is sometimes difficult to communicate on a normal day. We have come a long way in a decade and this is being discussed a lot more by organisations, the media, high profile persons and thankfully too on ‘positive’ social media. Some of the tips I picked up are really useful – such as spending time in nature and exercises for the various moods that we go through as ‘life gets in the way’. The one thing we need to remember is that persons are experiencing various levels of anxieties and fears especially in a pandemic and we just have to be conscious and mindful of these emotions. We should also make time to proactive take time out to maintain good levels of mental and physical wellbeing.
As there are now plans, strategies and steps being made to prepare us to return to workplaces, travelling as well as the risk of redundancies – trade unions have seen a revival with campaigning and working with workforces to ensure that they can voice their concerns and come to a consensus on various safety and wellbeing issues that do not put people at unnecessary and unexpected risks. There has been increased in trade union memberships as people look for collective influence from their trade unions to protect and support their interests in very choppy waters.
As I write, we are still in a phase where most employees are still not in the physical workplaces and sectors – schools, university, retailers, restaurant and hospitality, manufacturers, transport, aviation etc. Our key workers are also still fighting for the protection and enough equipment to ensure safety so it is obvious that the next phase would require planning, testing and adjustments to ensure robust mitigation against the obvious risks we will all face as we go gradually back to what was normal. In this period – we have seen redundancies announced by companies such as Roll Royce…who supply aviation engines to…British Airways who employ…thousands of people who are at risk of redundancies. This connectivity with business and people is very important and therefore all sides must remember this in good and bad times. It should not be a one-way approach for profiting – it was about a decade ago that governments had to bail out banks and now the situation is even worst and far widespread in a pandemic. There are forecasts for a global recession but hopefully, there will be a new way of doing business in future that will ensure that the balance is redressed.
I was due to leave for the USA this coming week and also travel to Trinidad to see relatives in July. However, I obviously can’t travel at this time as was happy to get a refund and also future travel vouchers to use up to April 2022. I would prefer to have this cash but I understand this is one way of helping the situation and all those people in the aviation industry. Although, it has been great to see the bright skies and sunny days during this working from home period due to better air quality in London. As you know, there are fewer aeroplanes in the skies and we should seek to think of air travel in terms of the environmental impact. I would use rail travel more to continental Europe, but this is not always cheaper when you are on a budget. There have been people flocking to beaches and other beautiful parts of England as lockdown has eased. It is worrying to see from a distance and I personally don’t see the attraction of going to the beach in a pandemic. The beach and the beauty spots can wait for a few more weeks…months…or year.
With England and other parts of the UK having different rules – we have been in the ‘Stay Alert’ phase of the pandemic. As usual, there have been several reactions on social media and real conversations I have had where there are mixed and unclear messages coming from our policymakers. It has been a benefit in this digital age to see the collective views and echo of the pandemic. Most of the time, people are not happy with the messages and the rules as they seem to be open to interpreted differently by different people. I presume most people are sticking to the rules, but there are a few issues in my local park and the high street with social distancing so can imagine some other places too.
In the last week – there has been public meltdowns with one rule for us, and one rule for others. Seriously, this was no joke – there were references to George Orwell’s book ‘Animal Farm’ where double standards exist to govern. Some other countries, on the other hand, have shown great examples of leadership and are working with their people to instil faith and positive examples for taking us to the next phase of this pandemic. Everyone seems to love Jacinta Ahern, Nicola Sturgeon and Angela Merkel. The most common feature is that they are female, but also seem to display humility and cautiousness in a time of grave danger to human life. There messaging has also been on point and exemplary.
Sadly, our Thursday evening neighbourly ‘Clap for Carer’ has come to an end – this has been one of the truly best aspects of the human side of praise for the keyworkers in a pandemic. As this disease continues, I will continue to remember and support them in my little way and hope you will too.
In my book club, one of my neighbours said that we should all be keeping journals that we can look back on for future researchers, historians and family. I have been thinking of this and my reason for focusing the pandemic in my last three blog posts. However, I have been extremely busy in this period of working from home, as we have mainly switched most of our offerings online. I am also volunteering, catching up on CPD and various activities such as the news using digital technologies. This can be overwhelming during the day so I make sure I do get some exercise and have a wander around my community and neighbourhood. I frequently catch up later in the evening as we have family time in the evening. The digital divide is real. Also, the divide between those able to work from home and those on the front line is also explicit. Undoubtedly, I am privileged to have access to digital equipment and okay with my level of ability but we must remember that not everyone is able to work from home and so we have to also be empathic and careful for those who will eventually have to return to those physical settings whilst the pandemic is still around.
Travelling are our main concerns – there are more initiatives for cycling but I personally also dread going on a crowded bus or underground train as I normally do. These are hard options to face as we hear about the relaxed in the rules. I still think of my grocery shopping as the most dangerous exposure to the virus as the busiest place I go to in the week. I still haven’t reverted back to online shopping for groceries. In the meantime, I am happy to make the best of my remote working as well as staying locally as much as I can.
It has taken a long time but I have finally looked at the film Contagion 2011, and it does give you an understanding of what the world is going through at present. The film can easily show the similar stages that we still working towards until there is a cure to COVID-19. There are also some uncanny foresight as it was based on SARS – such as the global spread of the virus, working digitally, the unruliness of stockpiling, social distancing and contact tracing, experts and truth finders, budget issues, death and the race for a cure. There is one line between the two investigating infectious diseases doctors – ‘if you are not doing fine – tell me’ that rang a bell to what is happening to persons during this month.
In this time of surreal comfort, I have been making the most of my home as my office, my oasis and my temple of calm. My garden has had my full attention and one of the main highlights of Spring 2020 has been the time seeing Walthamstow in bloom, the positive messages for the community and support for key workers displayed. Gardens and flowers have been an absolute avenue for me to find solace and beauty.
Garden centres were reopened three weeks ago and they were heaving on my first visit – with lots of plants… and people. However, the one I went to was very large and had enough social distancing guidance and signage. Linking this to my own spirituality and consciousness – I am hoping that regardless of the next few weeks, I have found new and old ways to ensure that my endurance and resilience are in tune to the next few weeks in a pandemic to help me cope with this unnatural way of working and living.
Connecting the Dots 