While 2020 was a year like no other, our hope was that 2021 would bring some familiarity to the tumultuous changes that were thrust upon us. However, 2021 presented a whole new set of challenges. Though we’ve had almost a year to adjust, in many ways it seems like the year is just starting. Here are some things we will not miss…
Grand central station in the kitchen
The kitchen has been referred to as the heart of the home for generations, but it has never rung truer than over the past two years. With the adoption of hybrid work schedules and companies determining their ‘new normal,’ most of us have rearranged our homes to redistribute dedicated spaces be it for work, school or Fido. The kitchen-office-classroom-library-daycare-kennel may soon return to just the kitchen.
“I think you’re on mute…”
While there are still the occasional technical glitches, for the most part, everyone has gotten the hang of conference calls, webinars and has figured out how to turn off their snapchat filters. Our ‘Brady-bunch’ screens have grown more familiar and online collaboration tools have risen to the challenge of making meetings equally as, if not more, efficient as in-person ones. Gone are the days of being caught with your pants down.
Please don’t squeeze my Charmin
Rumors, followed by media reports, were soon validated by our own eyes… #toiletpapergate was real! We hit the internet in search of toilet paper in the most unlikely of places and even contemplated downgrading to one-ply alternatives in lieu of the plush roll we became fond of. Toilet paper was being scarfed up in unheard of quantities with households covering their assets by placing multiple orders fearing there may be an unexpected cancellation. How many of you have recently opened a drawer to discover toilet paper stashes long forgotten? Don’t be surprised if that holiday box holds some regifted one-ply.
U can’t touch this.
Don’t touch the doorknobs, counter, packages, car door, steering wheel, pen, the pets… With most of the physical world off limits, out came the gloves. And just in case the gloves were faulty, there were 5 bottles of hand sanitizer to choose from. A simple trip to the grocery store, already a necessary nuisance, became even more of an onerous process. Washing fruit is one thing, but washing your cans, meat and cookies is another! We anxiously awaited opening our mail and packages from days ago that were sitting in quarantine as the virus presumably lost its battle with an inhospitable host. Luckily, we have come to learn that surfaces are an unlikely source of contagion. I’m still trying to explain this to the dog.
Please stand 10, 6, 4 feet apart
As city streets and stores started to show signs of life again, things were not as they were prior to the pandemic. People tentatively navigated food isles and sidewalks as though they surrounded by an invisible forcefield. Even as the mandated distance began to shrink, the hesitancy towards touching a keypad to complete a transaction was still evident.
With 2022 upon us, we can only hope for easing of pandemic disruptions as we lean into the changes the last two years have brought. We at SSi People, are prepared to keep shifting with the changes and are here to support our consultants and clients as they navigate 2022 and anything that it may bring.
