Muddling through the COVID-19 crisis: celebrating human spirit and ingenuity

I’m muddling through the COVID-19 crisis, just like you, but I am starting to think about what might come next.

Is it possible to have a good crisis? It’s too early to say but the dad in my Instagram feed who lit a fire pit and camped in the garden with his kids last night gives me hope.

Likewise the mum I work with who has split her day with her husband to manage work and the demands of a household with two young children. Another colleague has planted an in-house allotment.

People are seeking comfort in art, literature and music. They’re learning new skills and rediscovering old ones.

We are reorganising and reprioritising our lives. Families and friends are top of the list followed by activities that bring us together, albeit virtually for now, and nurture our health and mental wellbeing. Food and feeding the family has become my thing. I’ve also started planting seeds.

Human beings are incredibly adaptable. I’ve absolutely no doubt that we’ll modify our behaviour to this new way of living. The more interesting question is what happens next?

My wife shared a post on Facebook with me last night. I’m not usually one for inspirational quotes but this one has made me seek out the author’s work.

“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to work which parts of normal are worth rushing back to,” said Dave Hollis.

Indiscriminate virus highlights societal fault lines

While the COVID-19 virus is indiscriminate in who it attacks, both Prince Charles and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have fallen ill this week, it is shining a harsh light on privilege.

Working from home in a four bedroom house with a home office and garden is a very different experience to being perched on your bed in a flat or house share.

There’s also the issue of workforce investment. In large organisations managers are continuing to work as normal while those on the front line are furloughed.

Freelancers received a Government intervention this week. It followed support from the Treasury for large employees a week ago. Small limited companies have so far fallen through the gap.

Demand for food banks is on the rise. Tyneside Council has seconded eight staff to help with demand at our local Bay Foodbank in North Shields, Newcastle. Please support seek out and support your local organisation.

Key workers have been afforded a new status within society, and rightly so. Many doctors and nurses are isolating from their own families to work on the front line.

It turns out that the people who Home Secretary Priti Patel labelled as low skilled workers during Brexit debates a month ago are critical to the fabric of society.

Mental health and wellbeing

The long term cost of the crisis will be measured not just in terms of our physical health and the capability of the healthcare system, but as importantly in terms of mental health.

In the fight against the virus we need to shut down the very essence of what makes us human. Social activities, sport, and dating are no go.

We’re isolated from friends, family and children that we love. Families are stuck at home in a pressure cooker environment. Domestic violence, child abuse and the divorce rate are all expected to spike.

While the impact of the virus is being felt on every aspect of life it’s also impacting death.

Friends and relatives are isolated from people dying from Covid-19. Funerals are limited to ten people, social distancing rules of two metres apply and mourners can’t be pallbearers. At a time when human connection and intimacy is most needed it’s being denied.

Privacy cedes to massive tech onboarding

The last two weeks have seen a massive technology onboarding across society. At work and home video has become the norm. Privacy concerns have evaporated.

This hyper connectivity is creating its own issues. Work has gone virtual and in our personal lives people have sought to connect by building virtual communities.

It’s overwhelming and not sustainable. We’re overloaded with notifications and status updates. That in itself creates its own wave of anxiety. My advice is to turn them off.

There’s also the sheer volume of disinformation shared on social media. Everyone seems to have discovered a friend in the army, Government or health service with insider information. Please use Twitter and messaging tools such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp with care.

Leadership: politics, BBC and NHS

Political leaders around the world, the UK included, have had to shift from campaigning to managing the crisis. Many have been found to be wanting. Transparent and honest communication is critical however uncomfortable the message.

The BBC and NHS have both stepped up to the crisis.

The BBC has restated its public service commitment based on the principles of informing, educating and entertaining set out by its first Director General John Reith in 1931. The Government has put the NHS at heart of its response.

Any discussion about the value of either organisation or funding is off the table for at least a generation.

Rediscovering community values

People are pulling together in ways I’ve not seen in my lifetime. The public applause for the NHS at 8pm on Thursday was heart-warming. More than 700,000 people have volunteered to help the NHS.

The marketing and public relations business has shifted to education and public information. Purpose washing has been called out loudly on social media, likewise organisations such as Sports Direct and Wetherspoons which expected staff to work in defiance of the Government’s stay at home order.

Human ingenuity will find a way out of the crisis

There have been some brilliant responses to the crisis. Hotels are opening to NHS staff and the homeless free of charge. Supermarkets are opening early to vulnerable people and NHS workers.

In my industry the professional association and trade association are working together to provide information to members and lobby Government. That’s welcomed and I hope is the beginning of a new spirit of cooperation.

Supply chains are rapidly retooling, strung together with technology. We’ve started ordering vegetables from a wholesaler that until this crisis supplied local restaurants. Orders are placed by photographing an order form and sending it via text or WhatsApp.

Scientists are pooling resources via the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) to better understand the virus. Industry is building new hospitals and manufacturing protective equipment and ventilators.

Stay indoors and stay safe. We can fight the virus together. This too will pass.