This crisis got us back to appreciating the basics: a roof over our head, food on the table, being thankful for good health. So the question now is how can those lessons be applied in the workplace, in terms of not sweating the small stuff?
I think that means avoiding diving back into "hustle culture." As much as we all say we want work-life balance, we've probably put work over relationships at one point or another, and maybe some of us more than we want to admit. Before joining my current company, I was lucky enough to take a DIY sabbatical. With it came a renewed perspective on what I really valued: Work, of course; but, time with family and friends brought me true meaning and joy. With the pandemic, we've all been forced to slow down, recalibrate and rediscover what really matters, namely, family, friends and human connection.
That means extending that kind of next-level understanding to customers, too. We've always been a relationship-driven company. In the past few months, we've seen up close the challenges of the property managers we work with, folks at the frontline of the economic crisis. Sustaining that deepened commitment and connection to them, not to mention the community and city we work in, is one legacy I'd love to carry forward.
I'd like to think all of this adds up to something deeper, something that will stick with us. Tens of millions of people and countless businesses have been brought to their knees. Yet we've seen people rally together, too, in new and inspiring ways, from rounds of applause for first responders to neighbors offering to pick up groceries for each other.
We live in a shared web of human connection. And business — the way we work, who we do business with, how we treat customers — is as integral a part of that web as any other. We've always known this, I think. But it's been brought into stark relief by the crisis, and I hope it's something we can carry with us longer after it's over.