Emerging Working Relationships

"How are you?" is almost a strange question in 2020. Not because of the lack of people asking, but because the depth of responses it will generate based on the myriads of events unfolding around us. The complexity of it all is that many events aren't lined up; we are still responding to the virus or preparing for a second wave, and at the same time considering the impact of our responses and planning for the new world which is emerging.

A friend at CAHS forwarded The impact of Covid-19 on working relationships from The King's Fund, which explores how unresolved relational shifts during this period might result in a relational breakdown. One of the concerns raised is around the shift of power where some leaders have taken on a command and control type of leadership without collaboration, leaving others voice-less at the sidelines. This affects another concern around the sense of rejection where some have been redeployed, furloughed or held at home, when others have been brought in to lead, leaving them feeling worthless and "waiting to be called, to be allowed to be useful again."

While these concerns are potential emerging results of COVID-19 responses, putting them into our national and global systems of growing income inequalities and digital gaps, we will need to prepare for tired and demotivated teams, and especially the increased risk of depression.

This leads us back to that question of "How are you?". While we asked it a lot at the beginning of COVID-19, we shouldn't forget to continue asking the question and listen to the individual's response and their situation.

Read more

• Read the full article The impact of Covid-19 on working relationships.

• Learn about Mental Health First Aid here.

• Lifeline has good resources mental health too and can be contacted on 13 11 14.