As someone who believes in the simply human approach to HR, I wanted to share my personal COVID story. We all have ben challenged in different ways. In fact, there are so many ways COVID has impacted the world it is almost immeasurable. From business and personal financial well-being to mental health and physical health, to socialization and isolation… the list goes on. And interestingly, so many people have been impacted without ever having contracted the virus. Since COVID-19 was brought to light in March of 2020, my family had been cautious and safe, but not scared. We did some ‘normal’ things as time went on, but we were vigilant and did them safely. My wife and I were on the vaccination path. The proverbial light at the end of this tunnel was right there in front of us!
That’s where my COVID story starts
Then, our toddler didn’t feel well. Which, if anyone has school-aged children, you know can be a routine occurrence. She just had a little cold, and we kept her home from school. It didn’t even seem like it warranted a doctor’s visit, but we took her out of an abundance of caution. It was an absolute shock when the pediatrician’s office tested her for COVID, and it immediately came back positive. I got the frantic call from my wife as she and my little girl were being escorted out by someone in full PPE, informing her to call the doctor for next steps.
Even so, COVID doesn’t impact kids, right? And certainly not a 2-year-old, right?! It was just a “barky” cough. Still, we marched on, isolating immediately, notifying the appropriate parties and scheduling a secondary drive-thru test for her the next morning.
While waiting for the results, her barky cough quickly turned into gasping for air, and we were advised not to wait for an ambulance and head straight to the emergency room. Scary with a 2-year-old, but after a few hours and some serious steroids and monitoring, we were back on our way home. Now it was time for everyone to get tested. Boy, was I shocked when our entire family tested positive with COVID! Thankfully, we were OK, and our daughter was on her road to recovery with some rest, and water ice. We contact traced and quarantined and waited.
The physical impact on our family was so far less than so many others. It came (albeit a little scary) and it went. And just like that, we were out and about again continuing to be safe, but not scared. We marched on knowing our COVID story was unique to us and it wasn’t the same for others.
And because of this unique virus, we can’t paint the solution or our thoughts and actions with such a broad brush. It is impacting lives and business in a way that we have never experienced. The way it has changed life across the globe might continue to impact us for the foreseeable future.
We have to be conscious about others’ thoughts and actions as their experiences may be vastly different from our own…both positive and negative. But at the end of the day, we still have to march on, remaining vigilant and safe… but not scared.
Need help with HR issues you’re facing? NEMR will help you approach human resources concerns in a deliberate, thoughtful manner. Change is inevitable, especially now, but you have options and get to respond and plan for it within your organization. Take your time making decisions that impact your people, communicate your plans and be open to feedback and ideas. Chat Live with us to learn more or Email Us.