Coming Back After Covid
Like last summer, but longer lasting
It’s coming. Normal life. I can feel it.
George Carlin once said that “anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac.” And for most of us, this has been how we have looked at other people’s reactions to Covid. “Anyone masking/social-distancing/vaccinating more zealously than us is an overcautious worrier, and anyone not doing these as much as us is scientifically-illiterate, reckless, and dangerous.”
But I think the zeitgeist is shifting as the omicron-variant infections decline here in the US. There’s a sense that “herd immunity” is largely being reached, and that vaccination protects people from most of the serious health risks, even if they get a breakthrough infection. People who have been reluctant to do things in-person for the past two years are now starting to (cautiously) venture out.
As leaders, recognize how we can help our people. Remember that your team-members’ ability to return to in-person life and work may be strongly influenced by their status as parents—young children still can’t get vaccinated, and childcare availability has markedly decreased in the past two years.
It’s better to have a good team-member continue working remotely for the next few months than to have them have to resign because their boss demanded they come into the office when they either feel it is unsafe (for themselves or their family), or they would LOVE to come back to the office and interact with adults for hours, but they don’t have a childcare option.
Sound your people out about what they want and what they need over the next several months as we move into the post-pandemic stage of life.
But that return to normal life is coming. I can feel it.