Denial is not the Defence

“The Management Committee (MC) has decided that, starting tomorrow, helpers (Maids, Car Washers, Drivers, Caretakers) will NOT be allowed in the housing society premises. This step has been taken to support the Government initiative….”  read a notice in our society whatsapp group. For an hour, I was arguing with my father-in-law (who also happens to be in the MC) and my wife, of how this will not work! We have 2 full-time nannies for our kids and 2 maids for cooking and cleaning the two apartments we own. I argued about how it would be so difficult to do our office work if all of this ecosystem disappears. 

Tired of arguing with me, my wife retorted - “You are behaving like some of the skeptics we came across in the past, who were in denial about Virtual Trainings or Virtual Assessments” Honestly, that made for a good laugh, but it also made me realise that I was fighting a losing battle. I made peace with the new reality. We quickly charted out a plan - cooking was with the wife and my sister, house cleaning & utensils were with me and the kids, clothes with my father-in-law. All of this needed to be done starting 6 pm in the evening to 9:00 am in the morning before our office meetings (virtual of course) started. 

After executing this plan for a couple of days, I realised this was not as hard as I thought it would be! I have never imagined our life without the help and the driver ecosystem. But the trick was acceptance, and not denial. 

Even in the office, there were a few acceptance issues. Obviously most sales teams across the globe, including ours, are panicking about this and next month’s sales forecasts! However, few others were fast to accept the situation and increased their focus on selling virtually. And what a coincidence, this situation has actually enabled them to sell virtual training and assessment offerings virtually :) 

This adversity also brings with it, the focus to find an opportunity! The trick at work is going to be accepting this new way of working and learning. The lockdown scenarios and work from home seem to last longer. It may take at least 3 months (give or take) to even start feeling like we have returned to the old normal. And post COVID-19, with the unprecedented recession to follow, the world will never be the same again. It’s a refresh button! 

We as a human race have a lot to lose and a lot to prove. Here’s a chance to put a refresh button to a lot of things that were taken for granted! A chance to revisit the assumptions that certain things work this way or that way! Accept, refresh and rewire - there will be enough opportunities in this crisis. 

We all will emerge stronger!