No Social Distancing Yes Social Connecting

Before you condemn me for being a Covidiot, let me clarify that  I dislike the word social distancing.

From the beginning when this word entered our lexicon, I was distinctly uncomfortable with the notion that we have to become social pariahs. I had an “aha” moment today when one my colleagues told me that what we saying physical distancing and not social distancing. Totally agree @krishashok.

We need physical distancing and deep social connection in this time of the pandemic.

It has been two weeks since the lockdown began in India. Completely stuck at home, I have heard words like depressed, stressed, bored, going crazy, and many others from my friends and family. Simple pleasures in life seem to have gone. Dinner or a coffee in restaurant, movie night out, a sports event, a music concert – everything we took for granted is missing now. We couldn’t imagine we would be in this state of lock down even a month back. The difficult part is we don’t know what is the new normal is, and when will normal happen.

Humans have five senses – sight, touch, smell, hear, taste. Digital technologies allow us to speak, hear and see. That’s good enough to communicate. And most of that survives a virtual transition, but the physical intimacy of a handshake, hug or pat is definitely missing. This situation have given us the wonderful gift of time, time we saved from travel, long meetings and endless running from store to store doing chores. 

The only way to get through these challenging times is through increased Social Connection. We need to connect and communicate like we have never done before. Human-to-human connections – a simple laugh, a look, an argument, a listening ear, a compliment, a kind word all have the power to inspire, energize and make our life meaningful. In this current environment there are various ways to achieve this {

• Video chatting with school and college friends you have been wanting to connect with for a long time
• Calling a teacher whom you have always remembered
• Connected with colleagues who helped you when you were starting your career
• Listening to a long-winded explanations given by your child about their toy or description of their dreams
• Having a fun video chat with the team, singing, sharing stories and meeting their family over video
• Finally having the patience to listen to the old tales your parents have been trying to tell you for years
• Breaking the ice with someone with whom you had fallen out
• Finding out who your neighbors are and what they do
• Using this opportunity to connect with a large number of team members understand their passions, their views and their lives. Not those once-a-while town halls, but intimate gathering
• Having digital birthday celebrations, I have had a few of them already. They are fun
• Sharing old pictures and having a nostalgic moment with your friends and family

At my organization TCS, the marketing and HR teams are working together to enable social connections among associates. While offices are closed, the camaraderie and collaborations continue. We are leveraging our digital platforms to stay connected through virtual OneTCS activities like fitness and wellness sessions, digital birthday parties, live cooking sessions, yoga classes, talent showcases for singing and stand-up comedy, motivational speakers and bring our pets to work (digitally). I sometimes just ask my team to show up with their videos and chat the way we do around the water cooler. I enjoy meeting my colleagues’ children and having a fun chat with them.

So, get out there (no not out of your home, out of your comfort zone) and make those human connections. Let us see, listen, talk, laugh, cry and share. Let us renew the connections we have forgotten and make new connections. While physical limitations will keep us apart, social connections will bring us together and give us the positivity and energy to overcome this situation.

Are you calling your friend now??

#OneTCS #TCSTogether