Post-Pandemic Empathy: Let’s Take Care of One Another

After more than a year of Covid-19 restrictions, as people in the U.S. get vaccinated, they’ve started to resume their pre-pandemic routines, returning to restaurants and offices, and gathering with friends. This is wonderful, but, for many of us, also a little disorienting. Take me, for example: I am currently managing my third remote team of people and working with a supervisor I have never worked with in person.

In this time of transition—one foot in isolation, the other stepping forward cautiously—those of us who are leading teams ought to consider how employees have been affected by the pandemic and separation from colleagues and how they’ll deal with what comes next. The new reality will be a blend of old and new routines—a challenge and an opportunity.

In the year ahead, I expect to apply lessons I’ve learned during lockdown to managing my teams. Here’s what I mean by that.

My team’s emotional wellness is top of mind. The good news is: We’re more vulnerable, but we’re also stronger and wiser. Before Covid, I relied on body language and other visual clues to spot when one of my colleagues was struggling. Thanks to video, I’ve tapped into some new ways to identify developing problems. When a talkative colleague keeps quiet on a series of calls or an active participant on our team is missing meetings or asks for time off at the last minute—those are signs of trouble.

I’ll admit: I used to feel awkward when it came to probing colleagues about how they were feeling and faring, particularly if someone’s performance needed to be addressed. But Covid-19 made it necessary for me to be more inquisitive, and now I approach these check-ins like, “Hey, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

I’ve certainly felt nurtured by my supervisor, who’s offered real empathy and useful advice while we’ve worked together remotely. I intend to extend the same attention to the people I work with, and I’ll be checking in to make sure they’re okay for some time.

It’s important to be “real” with one another. Let’s face it, some days are harder than others, and it’s not always easy to be “on” from 9 to 5. Because the pandemic made it easier to be more open with one another, I expect we’ll continue to be a little more honest than before about how we’re feeling day to day. Video meetings, after all, have given us a window into each other’s lives. We’ve seen each other with kids and pets, in sweatshirts, and in offices we’ve set up in living rooms and second bedrooms. We’ve all been unmasked in a lot of ways. Though we’ve been physically apart, I think we’re closer now than ever.

That’s why I’ve tried to make time for more candid conversations. I’ve treated the last 15 minutes of my team meetings as “office hours” and anyone who needs to talk about anything at all is welcome to stick around and chat. Even if it’s not the same as catching up over a cup of coffee, it’s working for us.

Let’s give people time and space to adjust to changing routines. I’m excited to work side-by-side with people again as we resume some of our old routines, but I don’t intend to ignore the lessons I’ve learned over the past year. Let’s give people the freedom to choose how they reengage with work and colleagues, whether at the office or remotely. It will be stressful for some people, but not for everyone. Many will need time to rearrange childcare and adjust to commuting, others will work out a hybrid schedule—and some will be ready to be back in the office five days a week as soon as that’s possible.

I hope and expect that once we’ve had time to adjust, we’ll all be better together. In the meantime, let’s count our blessings and continue to take care of one another. 

#FidelityAssociate