Who Wants a Hug? Back-to-In-Person After COVID

"So...how was your pandemic?" I blurted out awkwardly.

Recently I saw a friend I don’t communicate with regularly. As we fumbled awkwardly for conversation starters, I blurted out “So...how was your pandemic?” As a full-on extrovert with pretty decent social skills, it was the best I could come up with. SO much has happened over the past year. A global pandemic, isolation, political division and upheaval, a racial reckoning, in addition to the 'normal' life events. And professionally, many of us have been relegated to den or dining room table and Zoom as ‘the office’.

Where do we even start when we come back together with people outside our immediate circle, especially when we go back to seeing each other face-to-face?

As more people are vaccinated, and we understand more about COVID, teams are back in the physical space. It’s no surprise that many have a wide range of expectations and worries - some want to hug everyone in sight and others wish they could stay at home in their pj’s forever. We’ve all experienced trauma in the last year, but it may not be the same trauma. Collectively we have experienced major losses and at the same time, it has also been a time of renewal and discovery. The bottom line is that...

...the team that is coming back is not the same team that went home ‘for a few weeks’ in March 2020.

With all of those experiences on our shoulders, how do we set expectations about physical contact and shared spaces? How do we support our teams to set boundaries while also re-bonding?

We have a lot to navigate. The new ‘normal’ is still being defined. People who have enjoyed their solitude might feel guilty admitting it to those who have really struggled. People are still fearful - there’s so much we have yet to know as we hold our breath to see what happens next.

What we DO know for sure is that teams need to have new conversations and establish new norms for how they work together. This is where we can help!

Helping with the Big Reset, we train your team with new ‘people’ skills for a consent driven environment. Our expert trainers conduct two hour training sessions that are customized for your organization. They:

• Explore how to set and receive personal boundaries (verbal and non-verbal)

• Build a shared understanding of consent - breaking down "gray areas"

• Help team members recognize and address the effects of trauma

• Practice identifying and eliminating micro-aggressions - "You got the China virus?"

BASE for All will provide time for a facilitated discussion of your own space guidelines and allows your team to share their questions and concerns. Our goal is to give your team a safe and welcoming space to have big picture conversations so that everyone feels supported.