8 Things To Take With You Into A New Year
Even if you had told us on New Year’s Eve 2019 that we’d still be dealing with a deadly and continuing epidemic two years later, we probably wouldn’t have taken the news very positively.
Unfortunately, as we approach the end of the second year of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, the truth has become brutally evident.
The phrase “new normal” isn’t quite as novel as it used to be. Moreover, despite the availability of vaccinations, there is still plenty to be concerned about: New variations continue to emerge and cause concern, individuals are still becoming unwell as a result of COVID-19, not everyone has been vaccinated, and the overall stress of it all may be overwhelming.
However, when you stop to think about it, there have been some unexpected silver linings to the previous two years as well. We are all eager to put the horror of the COVID-19 behind us, but there are certain aspects of pandemic life that we wish to carry on into the new year with us in the most positive way possible. We’ve highlighted 11 of them in the section below.
Working from home is an option for many people.
The fact that we didn’t put working from home at the top of our list would be a mistake. While not everyone has had the privilege of working remotely (and we must keep this in mind when we incessantly argue and discuss the matter), we are confident that more businesses will see the advantages of a predominantly hybrid or remote workforce in the future, particularly in the healthcare industry.
8 Things To take with you into a new year
Workers’ productivity does not inevitably diminish when they labor outside the office, contrary to popular assumption among certain upper management, and the epidemic has simply served to reinforce this point even more.
The results of a survey of approximately 800 employers conducted by Mercer, a workplace benefits consulting firm, revealed that employee productivity has remained constant (67 percent) or has increased (27 percent) since the pandemic began, despite the fact that many of these companies’ employees have been working from home during this time.
Accessibility
In the meanwhile, since we’re talking about pandemic-inspired changes in the workplace, let’s speak about accessibility: The previous few years have shown that accessibility at work and in our social life is not only necessary for individuals who are members of the disability community, but it is also something that can be accomplished with relative ease.
So why not go ahead and do it? Naturally, those without impairments benefit as well; the development of Zoom and other video conferencing applications has been a huge help for friends and family who have relocated but still want to participate in parties and other social events.
Staying at home is becoming more popular.
Even extroverts seem to realize that, after a long workweek, sometimes all you need is a night to relax and treat yourself anyway you see appropriate is a night off. Friday night food delivery, a lengthy bath, and a murder mystery? Yes, please. Bring it on, man.)
Lockdown taught us that taking a candlelit bubble bath and doing absolutely nothing else on a Friday night is a totally acceptable social routine.
Lockdown taught us that taking a candlelit bubble bath and doing absolutely nothing else on a Friday night is a totally acceptable social routine.
8 Things To take with you into a new year
Our knowledge of harmful practices
— particularly ‘gray area’ drinking — is growing.
During the most difficult days of the epidemic, many of us turned to alcohol for comfort. Many people are becoming more conscientious about their drinking habits these days. Those are more willing to rethink their “gray area” drinking, which is a nonclinical phrase that refers to people who use alcohol on a regular basis but do not fulfill clinical criteria for alcohol dependency or dependence on other drugs.
Furthermore, companies are responding to the increased number of people who are exploring sobriety by offering a greater variety of nonalcoholic spirits on the market than ever before. In addition, a growing number of bars have opened in recent years that offer only artisan cocktails and no alcoholic beverages. We’ll raise a glass (of something non-alcoholic) to that!
8 Things To take with you into a new year
The acceptance of mental health days as a norm
You’ve worked hard for your sick time, vacation, and personal days, and with the increased stress you’ve likely been experiencing over the previous few years, you’re likely to be in desperate need of them, even if you’re doing “nothing” for the rest of the day. There weren’t many places to go at the height of the epidemic, after all.)
Companies are even providing their workers with mental health days in addition to the usual paid time off they are already receiving. This kind of comprehensive assistance is beneficial to both the firm and the employee: According to a research published in the October 2021 issue of the Harvard Business Review, workers who felt supported in all aspects of their mental health were 26 percent less likely to report at least one sign of a mental health disorder in 2021.
“Mental health symptoms, underperformance, and absence from work were all reduced among those who felt supported by their employer,” according to the study. “They were also more likely to feel comfortable discussing their mental health at work.”
8 Things To take with you into a new year
Honest conversations regarding one’s own personal limitations
Many of us are still doing mental risk assessments before leaving the house two years after the beginning of our never-ending COVID-19 nightmare. That’s quite understandable; hearing about breakthrough instances and novel viral varieties on a daily basis may be nerve-wracking.
In part because everyone has developed their own distinct notions about safety hazards, we’ve become much more adept at debating our boundaries: which get-togethers are worth attending and which ones we’d like to avoid altogether, for example. To put it simply, we’ve learned how to say, “Hey, I don’t really feel comfortable doing that,” and not feel bad about ourselves.
COVID-19 provided us with a much-needed lesson on the importance of setting limits.
Discourses about race and why it is important in the United States.
Starting at the same time that the pandemic began, there was an unprecedented racial awakening in the United States, and the virus itself continues to shed a light on long-standing health inequities for people of color in the United States: Over the course of the epidemic, African-American and Latino populations have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality rates.
8 Things To take with you into a new year
Americans are becoming more and more aware of the fact that race plays a vital part in practically every aspect of our society, from health care alternatives to access to education and food fairness, and that this knowledge is growing (or the ability to grow or find affordable, healthy food in your neighborhood). Let’s make a concerted effort to change this going forward.
Acceptance of the fact that poisonous productivity is a genuine issue and that work should not be our primary source of identity
If 2021 was the year we realized how prevalent toxic productivity is in the workplace culture of the United States, let us make 2022 the year we understand that “good enough” is, in most cases, actually satisfactory. In case you’ve forgotten what toxic productivity is, it’s basically an unhealthy need to be productive at all times, at all costs even while you’re not working during the COVID-19 lockdown period. At one point in time, it seemed like everyone was interested in learning to make bread, learning a new language, and starting an Etsy side business all at the same time.
On a similar topic, as our professional and personal lives continue to bleed into one another, it’s quite refreshing to read articles that discuss how unhealthy it is for our identities to be attached to our professions. We are so much more than the people who work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
A buddy group that is focused on quality rather than number.
If your social circle has been feeling a bit thinner recently, you’re not alone in feeling this way. But, on the plus side, consider this: Many of your friends who have stood by you have done so because they value your friendship (and vice versa), and the epidemic is likely to have only improved your relationship.
The epidemic served as a timely reminder that friendship is about quality rather than number.
Our de-emphasis on the need of appearing picture-perfect all of the time
Makeup, schmakeup, schmakeup:
Many of us who used to spend 45 minutes putting on a full face of makeup before walking into the office found that switching to remote work had an additional benefit: we no longer felt obligated to complete the whole procedure.
While applying makeup in the morning is totally up to the individual if wearing makeup makes you feel more confident and like yourself, that is absolutely your prerogative there is no doubting that a full morning beauty routine is a significant time-saver.
According to a study conducted by the “Today” program in 2014, the typical woman spends around 55 minutes per day on her beauty preparation regimen, which corresponds to over 335 hours — or two full weeks — of self-pampering every year. More power to you if you decide to take advantage of that opportunity in 2021 to sleep in.
8 Things To take with you into a new year
