Written By: Natalie Heinrich
In the beginning of March 2020 when the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic hit, no one was prepared for what was to come and the lasting effects it would have long after. This large event of the twenty-first century, came with a multitude of difficulties and challenges affecting the many aspects of life. In this article I would like to focus on what this meant for the workplace.
The period of the worldwide Covid-19 quarantine was a time of great change for everyone. As something most of the global population has never experienced before, each individual was trying their best to adjust and navigate through this new way of life. Only “essential workers” such as health care personnel, and even those working in places such as grocery stores and public transportation were kept working in an effort to keep society running as smoothly as possible. Everything from schools, events, to places of work were shut down forcing the people out of society to stay home. This then led to a large amount of dropouts and job losses. Whether it was employees quitting their jobs or them being let go due to the fall in the economy, everyone was struggling. However, those who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs faced struggles of their own. Forcing most into remote work outside the office space, and setting up at home. From my own experience as a college student during this time, I too faced remote learning and found it came with many obstacles.
I have chosen to interview a handful of people with firsthand experience regarding the effects of covid in the workplace and where they are at now. I would first like to discuss the responses I received from one individual who has experienced significant change in their work environment due to Covid. Insurance assistant, Carol Heinrich states, “I went from working full time, 5 days a week in the office to spending almost all of my time remotely at home. That is 40 hours a week that I am no longer spending in the place I have been almost everyday for the past 35 years.” She explains how she went from working in an office to a newly renovated work space in the basement of her home. Furthering this conversation, I asked about her feelings on the change. She discusses that, “Working in an office was much less stressful than working at home.” When asked why she felt this way, Heinrich responded with, “Not having my colleagues around to rely on and socialize with is very isolating.” She then gets into the negative mental effects that she has faced over this drastic change. She goes on to tell that this feeling is something that many others she has spoken with who are in the same position, feel the same. This response helps us to understand the current mindset of an individual facing the reality of these effects. Based on the previous responses, I then decided to take this conversation in another route. I wanted to see what those affected individuals have done to either adjust to their situation or make light of it. According to Heinrich, she reveals that her methods are, “Continuing to stay in touch with my coworkers and using this time at home to be more productive. As well as learning to enjoy spending more time with myself and seeing it as a positive thing rather than something negative.” She urges others to look at the glass half full, and make the best of a not so ideal situation. To try and be grateful this is only the worst of it for some.
Finally, before wrapping up this article, I would like to discuss my own personal experience on what this all meant for me. Being a college student I felt many of the same effects from Covid as the individuals I interviewed for this article. From the mental effects of the global shutdown, to remote learning, and other various changes, I can conclude that this time was difficult and everyone was affected in their own way. However, being a current nursing student, I feel my education was altered more than other college students, as I heavily rely on my hands-on experience. During these unsure times, my clinical rotations were put on a standstill, and we were all put at what we would call a disadvantage. Gaining significantly less clinical experience than the prior graduating classes. However, when I did finally get in the hospital, I found that even though I spent less time there then the previous years, I was granted an experience most would never get. As incoming nurses, we collectively got to experience some of the worst before even stepping foot into the field. While this was a trying time, being on the front lines has skilled me more than I ever thought possible. Only time will tell if the world will ever go back to the way it once was. In the meantime, we can only make the best of our current situations and make the best for ourselves in a time so difficult.