What separates the COVID-19 pandemic from other global crises of the past is the speed and magnitude at which it has engulfed the globe. The virus (and its detection) arrived later to India, than it did to fellow nations, but the panic arrived before that. The first few hundred detections led to the heightened fear of mass breakouts and suddenly a country of 1.3 billion people came to a screeching halt.
Between potent premonition and a growingly proactive government taking successive decisions to contain the situation, the whole fraternity knew that work and personal lives would have to undergo a sudden and drastic adjustment – an adjustment to utter and complete uncertainty.
With clients putting research studies on hold across the country and beyond, and agencies closing down offices, every member associated with the organization was left with a feeling of no longer being in control of their personal or professional lives.
Naturally, this feeling had pervaded our workplace. On the other hand, the decision for an organization to move the entirety of its operations online in a couple of days, had its own challenges – some of them very unique to a developing nation with inconsistent access to superior infrastructure. Uncertainty about business and personal life aside, the situation was now focused on resolving issues like inadequate Wi-Fi systems at home, lack of access to mobile devices for the support staff, or even designated spaces to work within the home. ALL OF THIS IN UNDER A WEEK! And for some, even less. Logistical preparations were critical, but even more critical was the emphasis on helping every single member of the organization through the emotional vortex that they were passing through. The general atmosphere was filled with a lot of untended negative emotions.
The answer to a simple question that I was asking everybody, had fetched rasping, gut wrenching answers.
Question: How are you feeling?
Answer: Anxious, Frightened, Uncertain about the future, Hopeless, Concerned, Frustrated and so on.
Many of our associates had confessed to spending too much time dwelling on negative emotions and the situations that might have caused them. I had read about the highly dangerous physical and mental consequences of falling into a spiral of rumination. Rumination is the tendency to keep thinking, replaying, or obsessing over negative emotional situations and experiences (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). In this process, one can end up feeling worse and worse about the situation and themselves, the result of which could be a number of detrimental effects to one’s mental and physical wellbeing; inducing impulsive indulgence in overeating, smoking and alcohol consumption; alongside consequences for physical health including insomnia, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and clinical anxiety and depression (Gerin et al, 2012, Dimsdale, 2008, Everson et al, 1998).
Sensing the possibility of such grave consequences, it became clear to me that these emotions would need to be acknowledged and addressed at an organizational level. Thus, the dedicated effort to help the collective ‘wE’ associated with my life began to take shape as an initiative. I call it the ‘EQuation’ to carry this collective ‘wE’ forward, against all odds. EQ of course, signifies Emotional Quotient – which I have found to be the most essential ingredient in navigating rough waters in this unprecedented crisis, where the ‘E’ of emotions merits emphasis.
EQuation = PurposeE + RoutinE + HopE
The three pillars of this EQuation are PurposE, RoutinE and HopE – which would attempt to help everyone overcome this paralyzing sense of not being in control, which was a combination of uncertainty in routine, and a feeling of stagnation since the future suddenly appeared to be blurred.
At the centre of this initiative remains wE – the people. While the two pillars of enabling PurposE and RoutinE, have been focused on employees of the organization; the third pillar of HopE has extended to all associates, and the larger fraternity or the Market Research community.
HopE is dependent on the positivity that one sees in future, and is the most potent pillar. It was important to make people believe that they could themselves become the light at the end of this dark tunnel. Empowering them by advancing their skill sets, or providing insights which would open up new vistas of professional skills that could fetch them assignments in future, was the route to HopE, and that became the critical component of this initiative.
Inciting HopE: Leveraging time for knowledge cultivation
Recognizing the need to utilize the time might be used to ruminate, I decided that this was the best time to focus on furthering our cause of cultivating research minds. A series of 2-hour long online training sessions were planned and continue to be hosted by our organization and have been opened for all partners who are interested in joining in. The sessions cost nothing except time and wilful participation from the attendees. The trial versions of these sessions constitute basic modules on developing and enhancing moderation skills, fundaments of analyzing qualitative data, or logistics planning for a research project etc. and the response has been overwhelming. Fraternity members have reached out posting findings and the announcements of the training sessions on social media. The clamor for repeating the sessions by those who couldn’t attend the trial sessions makes me believe that the initiative is indeed a much needed one. Those who have reached out with a request for repeating the sessions comprise entry level as well as seasoned professionals. I am now requesting the seasoned researchers to co-facilitate training sessions with us and share their experiences.
PurposE + RoutinE: Collaboration in a time of isolation
The initiatives to instill PurposE and RoutinE among the employees had to ensure both frequency and regularity (with a focus on building positive engagement) since the possibility of people becoming detached whilst working in isolation is very high.
Digital protocols for self-monitoring of productivity, a daily process of an open discussion about the daily tasks with the immediate supervisors, creation of organization-wide, and task specific messaging groups, were established to create a semblance of normal work life. This has created an avenue for bonding and trust building within and between multiple teams. Daily video meetings were planned for the senior task force from every department to catch up with one other. This has become a digital edition of the watercooler conversations that take place at work, and are often kickstarted by playing a peppy song to set a positive precedent for the day.
Little initiatives like surprise contests for the best dressed person on organization-wide video calls, have generated a lot of excitement with all employees including the office administrative staff who have excitedly posted their photographs on the messaging groups. Composite collages of these pictures have later been used to reach out to all associates with a positive message that revolves around team spirit.
Young Researchers have been designated as the harbingers of change. They are not only responsible for the documentation of trainings to contribute assets to the culture of learning and knowledge building; they are also delivering short training sessions to everybody on the use of technology or new apps and so forth.
I can say with a lot of confidence that the EQation with PurposE, HopE and RoutinE is successfully leading to positive outcomes and is helping in uplifting the spirits of the most valuable asset the Market Research Industry has…the people. I would urge anyone reading this to try out the EQation, making it your tool to rise above the stressful times we are passing through.
2 comments
Superb read, Sharmila. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – sounds like a great initiative, and a doable one too!
Simply Awesome