Page 34 - BusinessWest June 9, 2021

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es her clients to make a bucket list of activities they are excited about doing again. “Making a list reminds people of what brought them joy before COVID and can help motivate them to get back to doing those things again.”
COVID also had a significant impact on the nature of work. Depending on the occupation, some people reported to work every day during the pandemic, while others followed a more hybrid approach of working at home some days and at the office other days. A third group has been working from home since last March.
“I think many people will be in a sort of in-between place until we start to see a critical mass of vaccinations.”
LAUREN FAVORITE
Employers have begun asking Joy Brock, director of the CON- CERN Employee Assistance Program, how to proceed as we move toward the end of the COVID era.
“Companies are struggling with how to translate all the different mandates,” Brock said. “They are having as much anxiety as their employees.”
According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division, employers are allowed to ask if an employee has been vaccinated. In some cases, they can require vaccination in order to report to work. Exceptions are allowed for those protected by legal rights, such as individuals who have disabilities or those with sin- cerely held religious beliefs.
Brock said even those distinctions beg more questions. “What if I’m vaccinated, but the person next to me isn’t? How is that going to work with masks, social distancing, and other considerations?”
When there is no clear-cut direction, individuals usually figure out how to keep themselves safe. Brock said even modest steps
to take control over one’s health can help reduce anxiety. “If that means you are the only one in the office wearing a mask, that’s per- fectly fine.”
Finding a comfort level at work and in the world ultimately depends on the individual. Burgess emphasized that everyone is
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KATHRYN MULCAHY
“Instead of trying to do everything at once, I remind people it’s OK to take baby steps. You might not be ready to go out to the movies, but you can start getting back into the world by taking a
walk in your neighborhood.”
34 JUNE 9, 2021
HEALTHCARE
on their own journey, and it’s OK to move at a different pace than others.
“I advise people to be patient with themselves and not make any self-judgments just because their comfort level is different than their friends or co-workers,” she said.
One clear demand Brock has heard from workers involves flex- ibility in work schedules.
“For the most part, people have enjoyed working from home because it makes child care easier to manage, they have been able to match or exceed their productivity, and many report lower stress levels,” she said.
With that in mind, many employers are looking at a hybrid model and trying to figure out the right mix between working at the office and from home.
A return to the office also means remembering how to be a col- league. Even if co-workers talk remotely every day, Mulcahy said people can get out of the habit of face-to-
face conversations.
“As silly as it sounds, practicing an in-
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