Will 2022 be “2020 too”?
The December holidays felt like a return to a sense of normalcy and optimism. Finally, after more than one and a half years, we could hang out with our friends. Businesses were bouncing back. Cases were going down. But alas, the holidays were merely a reprieve; January saw a spike in COVID-19 cases presumably caused by the Omicron variant. Most likely, our loved ones and even we ourselves have contracted the virus. It is tempting to be pessimistic. Perhaps the social media pun is right — 2022 seems to be “2020 too”!
Two years in, we have accumulated personal anecdotes and formal research on how the pandemic has adversely affected multiple dimensions of our well-being: physical, economic, mental, social, and even spiritual health. The spread of Omicron has forced us to more intimately struggle against the apparent absurdity of life. With every breath that falls short, anxiety that intrudes, and the pain of isolation, it is tempting to give up and just let the virus leech our souls.
But wait! Wouldn’t it be such a tragedy to give up during the month of love? If there is any silver lining in this seemingly absurd situation, it is that testing positive for COVID-19 does not feel like a death sentence anymore, compared with the heartbreaking stories of 2020. My medical doctor friends have surmised that the advent of the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible but less lethal than the Delta variant, is the beginning of the end of this pandemic. We are at the climax of this pandemic story. We seem to be entering the final battle against this wretched virus.
Given this context, I offer two insights to reflect on: 1.) rather than being in denial, we are better off assuming that we will all be infected by the coronavirus (the Omicron variant seems to infect by the household); and 2.) outlasting the virus is a team-based marathon.
My wife and I thought that getting infected would just be a matter of time. The strategy that our medical doctor friends offered was simple: before getting infected, take the vaccines, and boost the immune system through vitamins and supplements. Thus, when we did test positive, we felt more prepared. My symptoms were worse than hers. The way she cared for me, supplemented by the generous care kits sent by our relatives, gave me a more profound appreciation of love within the context of suffering. To love is to not be in denial of impending suffering; to love is to suffer together yet still choose to care for each other. To love is to take advantage of all kinds of blessings brought about by both science and faith.
These insights apply to businesses and organizations, too. Now is the time to be more generous and flexible than ever. Work-from-home and hybrid arrangements are still optimal for social distancing and recovery. More than efficiency and productivity, however, we should aim to survive through empathy and creativity. Surviving means allowing our workforce and key partners to recover so that we can keep on covering each other’s weaknesses. The strategy is also clear: embrace digital business models and work setups. Digitalization is the vaccine for businesses and organizations against the pandemic. Although not a silver bullet, it allows us to better take advantage of opportunities.
Personal and business resilience means remaining virtuous despite the worst circumstances. In other words, choosing love is where resilience and romance intersect. With love, 2022 will not be “2020 too”!
Patrick “Patch” Adriel H. Aure, PhD is the vice-chair of, and an assistant professor at, the Department of Management and Organization, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. He advocates social entrepreneurship, humanistic management, and integral human development as the head of the Social Enterprise Research Network of the Center for Business Research and Development (CBRD-SERN).
