Earlier this year, health law attorney Jay McEniry wrote in the American Bar Association’s The Health Lawyer about the need for greater human connection in the practice of law. He cited an article I wrote for SmartBrief. Here’s Mr. McEniry’s article: “Chair’s Column” Addressing Our Loneliness Epidemic.”
When a big storm is forecast to come our way, Katie, my wife, starts to plan ahead, just in case we lose power: non-perishable food in the pantry (check), flashlights with working batteries (check), gas in the car (check), some cash on hand (check). She reminds family members to charge up their phones and laptops. The havoc the storm may, or may not, cause is unknown but she has taken proactive steps to get us through.
Katie Stallard and I were delighted to see the reaction to the virtual training we did to kick off the American Cancer Society’s virtual Leadership Institute Network Series. Here’s what Kristine Revelle, Senior Consultant, Learning, at the American Cancer Society wrote about it:
Practically overnight the vast majority of office workers became remote workers when social distancing measures put in place in March to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus dramatically changed the way we go about our days. If that was you, over the last several months, you have had a taste of the long-touted benefits of remote work—no commute (a savings of nearly an hour a day for the average American plus the cost of commuting) and flexibility. You may also be wrestling with the challenges of blurred lines between company time and personal time, and how to effectively collaborate with colleagues who are no longer down the hall.
Recently, Katie Stallard and I had the opportunity to speak with Tom Loarie, host of the Mentors Radio Show, about career burnout and the role that connection plays in preventing it. It’s an important topic given the high stress levels that many professionals are experiencing today.
If you or someone you know is struggling with burnout, we hope the interview provides some helpful tips in getting back on a path to engagement and happiness. Listen to the full interview.
How can we protect people in the workplace so they don’t contract Covid-19? The Centers for Disease Control just released guidelines for offices that include temperature and symptom checks; encouraging employees who have Covid-19 symptoms or sick family members to stay home; prohibiting hand-shaking, hugs, and fist bumps; wearing face coverings; physical distancing of work stations (or separation by plastic shields); and eliminating seating in common areas.
Will people follow-through and do their part for the good of the whole? What can be done to increase compliance with these and other requirements so that the risk of virus transmission is minimized?
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Lt. Brian Ellis, host of the Badge Cast 1 podcast. Badge Cast 1 is a production of the National Command and Staff College, an organization dedicated to providing leadership training to public safety professionals.
Are you home and feeling alone? Are you home and wishing you could be alone for even a few minutes? The Covid-19 virus has caused many organizations to move large numbers of employees from working together at the office to working remotely at home. For other organizations, it has meant temporarily shutting its doors and having to furlough workers or let employees go. Unless you are an “essential worker,” gone is the time you spent interacting with strangers, colleagues and friends as you commuted to work, ducked out to grab a meal or run an errand, and did your job. Gone is the time you spent socializing with friends at a sporting event or volunteering alongside others in the community.
In this recent episode of SHRM’s “All Things Work” podcast, Katie Stallard and I spoke with host Tony Lee about the isolating nature of remote work and solutions employees can take to stay well during this time of social distancing.
I hope you’ll listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague as we all work together to stay connected. Click here to listen to the podcast episode.
The novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the need for social distancing, quarantine and isolation so that vulnerable individuals are not exposed to the virus and healthcare systems are not overwhelmed. Collectively, we understand the goodness of “flattening the curve” by each of us doing our part to slow the spread of the virus. COVID-19 is not the only epidemic we are facing.