Wait, hear me out before you close out of the page…and please do not misinterpret what I am here to say. I do not miss the terrible health crisis, the ongoing uncertainty, or political climate fraught with divisiveness.
I miss the camaraderie and global empathy that emerged in the days we were all relegated to our homes, uncertain about the unfolding events and their impact on our lives and businesses, but resolving to stick together as humans and withstand the tough situation we found ourselves in.
2020 showed me that the world, and more specifically, the workplace, is capable of compassion, empathy, understanding, kindness and collaboration.
During that year, I felt that my company saw me more as a person than an employee and so I showed up as my whole, human self and delivered some of my best work. I can’t speak for others, but from what I witnessed it seemed other people felt similarly. There was cross-team collaboration we had not had before, new services being rendered, products being created, the list goes on. And the sense I got at work during that time was that as a business, we were thriving.
It didn’t matter your hierarchy, title, salary, team or location. We were all experiencing a shared trauma which created a spirit of empathy I had never seen in the workplace before.
The barriers of office walls were broken down for Zoom rooms that anyone could join from anywhere. If you couldn’t make a meeting because your kid needed help with their homework, or you were struggling with just showing up that day because the world had beat you down - it was ok. “Take the time you need. It’s hard right now.” People understood one another and help was given without having to ask because we all sort of got what the other person was going through. And then when we did show up to work, we worked hard because we felt appreciated and understood.
So my question is…why did that have to end?? Because to me it feels like it did.
As soon as the pandemic was declared ‘over’ and someone decided it was ‘time to get back to work’ it felt like people forgot how to be human at work and turned into hustling work robots again.
I truly believe it’s possible to create a spirit of compassion, kindness and empathy in the workplace, which is achieved through mindfulness and a mutual understanding of our humanity. And I am further convinced that when we do this our businesses will thrive.
This year, I am on a mission to fuse my passions for business and mindfulness, to help more of the humans in our workforce feel appreciated so we can bring joy and compassion back into the workplace.
Spoiler alert: Work doesn’t have to suck!
More to come on this soon. Send me an email if this resonates with you: kendra@kendraallenspach.com and subscribe below if you haven’t already so you get the latest and greatest in my monthly newsletter.