People & Culture
Fatigued or Lethargic?
By Hutton Henry · 23 April 2021 · 5 min read
Fatigued Or Lethargic, Lethargy is different to fatigue, especially when it comes to lockdown.
Face it. We are all sick of video calls. I don't have to explain why we're feeling fatigued or the benefits of WFH. You've been working WFH for long enough to work out the pros n cons. There are a plethora of articles on lockdown fatigue.
With uncertainty and new variants abound, mixed-messaging and 'ghost' or shell companies still in operation, it's no wonder we've been finding it difficult to make plans.
Unable to plan too far ahead, for most, the horizon is a few weeks, and the perimeter of adventure is a trip to the park. 'Lockdown lethargy' might describe that undercurrent that's preventing us from being 'us'. Lethargy in this context is not planning to do something.
Unable to commit to the social, vacation and human times that keep us sane.
Lockdown lethargy seems to be impacting everything. I only see it from the lens of our practices. Sod it. If I can't plan too far ahead, let's review the past month:
Rather than talk 'at' the audience, I asked them to tell me how they were doing? For them, to be honest. Have things been prosperous or challenging? Pretty much all of the responses were "Rollercoaster". I was surprised with this result; I thought it'd be a mixed bag. And the organisers were amazed that people were showing their vulnerability before I'd even introduced myself. (So was I!)
Talking with a bunch of strangers confirmed my observations that our values are being challenged at work, and no one ever studies or records their personal values. Even when people agreed they need to do this work, the lockdown lethargy set in. We'll leave it until things return to normal. No, this is the time to spend on it now, get those values recorded.
Something I urged people to do, as we worked interactively together to document them on the fly.
It turns out, getting data about how people/employees align to their company values is challenging. But this talk demanded data, and the product OfficeVibe has some interesting results.
If this talk confirmed a value for me. It was this. I hate online conferences.
PEOPLE
TRUST
I've been posting about the pros and cons of employing and managing 'Brilliant Jerks' and how the value of an investment is related to the People, not necessarily the product. Partly to stimulate conversation and response, but primarily due to the impact on our teams. A casualty from the pandemic appears to be team health, in particular trust. A healthy team needs to both communicate well AND express healthy conflict. But conflict is damned challenging to manage and impossible to resolve if the parties involved can't meet in person to resolve their issues. The problem is teams are waiting until things return to normal. (Lockdown) Lethargy cannot be allowed to rule here! If bridges have been broken, they must make an effort to meet in person and amend. Noting this has always been a challenge for global teams. So this Harvard Business Review article has some handy tips on addressing these problems in virtual teams. But note my main observation, if trust is breaking, don't wait for things to be over to handle it.VALUES
The pandemic is an excellent opportunity to re-evaluate our values. What we're doing. Who for. And why? But more than pure re-evaluation, it's time to record those values. I mean, write them down. Many strive for survival in old roles or companies; maybe instead, it's time to pivot and re-align ourselves and get us into a flow with something we enjoy doing. Sounds a bit fluffy; I get it. But 'The Value of You' was the subject I took on for a conference.
Rather than talk 'at' the audience, I asked them to tell me how they were doing? For them, to be honest. Have things been prosperous or challenging? Pretty much all of the responses were "Rollercoaster". I was surprised with this result; I thought it'd be a mixed bag. And the organisers were amazed that people were showing their vulnerability before I'd even introduced myself. (So was I!)
Talking with a bunch of strangers confirmed my observations that our values are being challenged at work, and no one ever studies or records their personal values. Even when people agreed they need to do this work, the lockdown lethargy set in. We'll leave it until things return to normal. No, this is the time to spend on it now, get those values recorded.
Something I urged people to do, as we worked interactively together to document them on the fly.
It turns out, getting data about how people/employees align to their company values is challenging. But this talk demanded data, and the product OfficeVibe has some interesting results.
If this talk confirmed a value for me. It was this. I hate online conferences.