2021 is over. It was a very challenging year but at last it's done. Now we must look forward toward 2022 and what it will bring. But first, my top learnings from 2021.
The "New Normal" isn't Normal
I hate that phrase. Like many other overused cliches, "the new normal" became a way not just to express wonder at the rapidly changing policies and adjustments that Covid-19 required, but also as a wave-off of any possible resistance to change. "The New Normal" became society's way of telling us to "just deal with it". Considering everything as "normal" rejected out of hand the notion that we should deeply question the changes, understand the root causalities, or even push back on some of the requests.
Switching suddenly to remote work wasn't normal. Going from restriction to lockdown again and again wasn't normal. Losing all direct contact with co-workers, friends and family wasn't normal. Living with the fear of potentially carrying a lethal virus without even knowing it wasn't normal. 10-12 hours of back-to-back Zoom calls every day wasn't normal. Nearly 2 years without seeing important customers or co-workers in person wasn't normal. It wasn't normal then and it's not normal now.
For Good Or Bad, Work is Changed FOREVER
Regardless of how many new variants emerge or how long until Covid-19 is finally eradicated (if it ever is), the world of work will never return to a 9-to-5, 5 day a week office-centric culture. It's gone and it will never come back. Surveys continue to show that most people prefer a hybrid model of at most 3 days a week in the office and 2 days remote, with variations on that theme across industries and companies. Flexible work policies have gone from nice-to-have to must-have to a way of attracting and retaining top talent, especially in industries like technology.
This has caused management to redefine productivity and performance, talent management, and career pathways. I don't think any company has got it totally right, and many have gotten it pretty wrong. The loss of common workplace culture and relationships may have a profound and as yet unquantifiable impact on the future of work, especially for those onboarding remotely, those with low digital literacy, those in front-line customer-facing roles like sales/service and the like. Some companies (sell-side brokers, for example) required employees to be fully back in the office, like it or not, and the backlash from those decisions has been well noted.
"Work From Home" became "Live at Work" with calls and emails and tasks appearing and being addressed at all hours of the day. Many of us routinely worked 12 hour days, nights, weekends, holidays and everything in between. Sometimes this meant no time even for lunch, with calls stacked back-to-back from morning until night. The flexible work became an inflexible and unrelenting grind of Zoom, Teams and Webex with barely even time for a bathroom break on many days.
There was no time for "actual work" (especially deep work) apart from nights, weekends and holidays. I continued to get (and respond to) emails and messages 24/7 for months on end, desperately trying to stay afloat (and failing anyway).
It's OK to Not Be OK
Like a rock buffeted by crashing waves, over time many of us broke down. Eroded. Parts of us washed away, dissolved into the relentless surf. Many people were able to endure the first few months with a stoic mentality and a commitment to work as hard as needed to get the job done, however we had to do it. We struggled with technology and other logistical and operational issues but somehow we found we could get by. Mostly. Over time, however, the loss of humanity and lack of any WHY in our work began to add up. The overload of work required to do every little task kept pressure on us every moment of every day. Bit by bit, it became overwhelming with no respite and no way out. Hopelessness and despair led to burnout and for many, resignation. Companies put on a good face, but there have not been any real support systems in place to cope with burnout, depression and the overwhelming despair that these changes have caused.
Covid-19 has affected EVERY SINGLE PERSON on this planet. We need a much better effort to provide necessary mental health care in the face of this unprecedented crisis.
I personally suffered in all three health domains: mental, physical and spiritual
Physically - I have felt exhausted for the past 2 years, unable to ever fully refresh and recover my energy. Long work days has meant no way to go to the gym to offset being sat in front of the computer constantly. I ended up with Type 2 diabetes due to poor food choices and lack of exercise. Stress caused me to have long bouts of insomnia and overall poor sleep quality which in turn contributed to overall loss of energy.
Mentally - I have felt drained every day, irritable and lonely, missing human contact and racked with constant worry and stress. I have felt depressed almost all the time since late 2020. On weekends I usually sleep or do very little, often lacking enthusiasm for my daily life outside of work, worried about what stress the next week of tasks will bring. It has felt like a constant drowning, slowly but surely, over the past 15 months. Working harder hasn't helped but there has not been another option to cope with increasing pressure and work responsibilities.
Spiritually - I lost my WHY some time ago. I LOVE my customers and co-workers and love to help them solve problems, but working remotely has caused distance and made it much harder to establish the trust we need to solve issues together. As a people manager it's been hard to maintain trust with my team and be there for them. Frankly, it's impossible to save others from drowning when you are drowning, too.
Lack of a proper vacation for the past 2 years has contributed significantly to this.
Vacation Means Something Different Now
Workplace stress was compounded by the long-standing inability to travel. For us in Japan, lacking the ability to travel overseas has meant that we either travel domestically, which most of us did a bit, or wait hoping that the restrictions would lift, which most of us did. Very few of us took our allotted vacation days (I took less than half of my annual leave) since it seemed like such a waste. Usually we would go to Hawaii or Thailand or some other exotic destination, and I would always try to get a two-week holiday to visit family in the US every year. For the past 2 years, nothing. The few odd days off were spent mostly on the couch, exhausted. As a result, there was never really any break from work. "Always on" became the accepted (and expected) status and Teams/Slack never seemed to stop. I found myself staring at my laptop/phone from sun up to sun down, even during meals. I lost my family time and every moment doing anything else caused me to feel dread at what would be waiting for me when I looked at my laptop/phone again.
Despite some light at the end of the tunnel in October, Omicron now suggests that travel will be off the cards potentially for most, if not all, of 2022 as well.
No One is Immune
Not just from Covid-19, no one is immune from the potentially negative effects of so much change in such a short time. I have 40+ years of martial arts experience, coupled with a deep understanding of personal spirituality and meditation. I am a survivor of the State of Illinois mental health/children's services system for nearly 18 years and have had more than 10 years of therapy and counseling for the trauma I suffered as a child. I consider myself extremely emotionally stable and mature, with a very resilient mentality.
Despite this, Covid-19 has left me broken and shaken, spiraling downward into depression and weakening day by day. It's gone on for far too long and been too intense for me to manage it with the skills I have. I lied to myself about how deeply this affected me and have been afraid to ask for the help and support I need because I was worried about losing my job and my position. That cannot continue.
SO WHAT'S NEXT?
2022 must be different. It cannot continue like it was in 2021. I cannot continue like I was in 2021. In summary, I lost my balance and need to recover it, somehow.
I need to rebalance my mind, body and spirit before things get worse. There is still time to act.
Mind
I need to work in a healthier and more sustainable manner.
I need to better manage my work stress and feel more productive/effective.
I need to be honest about my mental health struggles during this time and be accepted/acknowledged for what I am experiencing. I need help sometimes. I need more realistic goals.
I need to feel successful and establish successful routines to accomplish my goals. I need coaching/mentoring for my development areas.
I need to learn and grow again.
I need to write regularly for myself, not just emails, chats etc. for work.
Body
Teaching Kali 2/week has not been enough to keep me healthy. I need my own training regimen apart from that and I need time to do my own training. I need time to do my next level of research into my martial arts and develop new ideas again.
I need to defeat my T2 diabetes and get control of my metabolism before it gets worse.
I need to get enough good quality sleep every night.
I need periodic vacations to disconnect from work and recharge my body and my mind.
Spirit
I need to reconnect to my WHY.
I need to fix myself first so I can contribute more to those around me.
I need time every day for meditation and reading.
2022 will bring lots of change, hopefully positive change.
I hope it will bring positive change for you, too.
