The past 14 months have been challenging for everyone, and uncertainty still lingers. As leaders, it’s important to try to prepare for the unknowns of the future and plan for a return to the office. We’ve tapped into Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s transformation curve to see how it can help leaders understand the physical and emotional experiences of COVID.
This is how COVID affected us
The change curve outlines five psychological phases of change: denial , anger , bargaining , depression , and acceptance . It’s important for all employees and managers to be aware of these cycles in order to understand their own reactions. The first wave took a toll on us both mentally and physically , and it’s still affecting us – and we came out of it last November and this March. Let’s see how we got through it.
The first wave based on the change curve:
REJECTION
At the beginning of 2020, when the news about the virus had been coming for a few weeks, we simply ignored it: many people quickly traveled and we thought the whole situation was completely exaggerated. As a natural self-protective reaction, there was a period of denial and avoidance, when we were not yet prepared to face the facts.
ANGER
Then the first lockdown came in March, and we quickly entered the anger phase (“They’re going to fire me, the company is going bankrupt.”). We began to see that there was no point in denying it. Some people blamed the Chinese, some blamed the healthcare system, some blamed the government, or just those who weren’t taking this seriously.
We felt helpless and drifted with the tide, but we ran to buy things, sent people home from work, children from school. There were companies that responded quickly at this stage and created a precise home office system, assuring employees that everything would be fine.
BARGAIN
In the next stage, we understood what had really happened. We started to think and become collaborative to try to create the best alternative to the situation. Where possible, the world of home office emerged around this time, and online education also reached a more stable level.
DEPRESSION
Then came the depression phase, when we had already accepted the change. Our self-esteem and activity reached a low point, and the lockdown, home office, and the feeling of isolation aggravated this condition. It was an important realization that as an employer, we should place special emphasis on the well-being of our employees, we contacted colleagues almost on a daily/weekly basis. This, of course, meant a huge additional task, physical and mental strain for the managers.
COMPASSION
Sometime in the early summer months, we reached a stage of acceptance . We accepted that the world had changed and we were able to enjoy the good weather, even if the holidays were going in an unusual way. We started setting new goals, planning what we could reorganize from the past 3-4 months for next year, and how we would get back on our feet in September.
As leaders, it is important to understand the stages of the above curve, as these are natural human reactions and we need to help our colleagues and ourselves overcome the challenges caused by the changes as soon as possible.
How do we translate this knowledge into practice?
In order for our colleagues to feel safe and fully focus on their new challenges, it is worth consciously preparing for their return as a leader. Falling back from the solitude of home into the hustle and bustle of the office is a challenging task. However, with a few conscious steps, we can make the process relatively smooth. Our latest program for leaders aims to contribute to this. Our Return to the Office training provides not only theoretical but also practical knowledge , as well as numerous techniques and tricks that we can safely apply when communicating with our colleagues.