{"id":542,"date":"2020-07-01T07:42:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T05:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/?p=542"},"modified":"2020-07-01T07:42:33","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T05:42:33","slug":"gradual-return-to-normality-at-work-home-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/?p=542","title":{"rendered":"Gradual return to normality at work, home, etc."},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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On June 9,\nI resumed my face-to-face teaching after three months. Our work venue has been\ntailored to ensure physical distancing, and we are obliged to wear a face\nshield. There are arrows directing where to enter and exit; each room has\ninformation on the number of people allowed inside and a bottle of gel to hand\nsanitise. I have four students in an area of 18 square metres that can\naccommodate 20 people. According to them, my face shield produced echoed sounds.\nLikewise, I could not hear well what they were saying.  With\nour great sense of humour, we did not notice the time passing by; after an hour\nand a half of the lesson, the flipchart was filled with nouns, verbs and\nadjectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confinement and social distancing have\nresulted in financial hardship, work stress, and relationship difficulties. Many\nof us have now gone back to our pre-COVID routine; however, there are still millions of people negotiating the transition\nback to what it used to be the \u201cnormal\u201d.  Should common areas at home remain as workspaces?\nHow many days per week should employees telework? Should religious service\ncontinue in car parks? Are drive-in cinemas a new vogue? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her article \u201cLife And Work After Covid-19: The Problem With Forecasting A Brighter Future\u2019,  Josie Cox stated: \u201cOur longing for a pre-pandemic existence (look no further than social media) is hard evidence of the fact that we will most likely revert to old habits and behaviors, both good and bad, when lockdowns are lifted and social distancing called off. We like the comforts and freedom of choice. In the workplace and beyond, we tend to choose a path of least resistance because that’s just the way we’re wired\u201d. – US English (https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/josiecox\/2020\/04\/14\/life-work-after-covid-19-coronavirus-forecast-accuracy-brighter-future\/#6732fcb765b1<\/a> seen 16\/06\/20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 18,\nmy husband and I went to the cinema (movie\ntheatres opened on June 17 in Luxembourg and June 22 in France), and “Just\nMercy” enthralled us. It is a compelling true story about Bryan\nStevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative and Walter McMillian (who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime\nhe did not commit).  We took off our\nmasks only after we had sat down on our allocated seats. There were only eight\nof us in a room for 200 people. How long will\nit take for cinemas and theatres to attract crowds again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, in France and Luxembourg, workers who interact with customers and their colleagues are required to wear facial coverings. Unlike in China and some Asian countries where mask-wearing is a conscious act, this is not the case in cultures where it is associated with vulnerability and fear. Hence, I do not know when this \u201cnew normal\u201d will disappear in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with\ngovernment support programmes, many families and companies will simply not\nbounce back or recover overnight.  The\nscars of COVID-19 will always remind us of the fragility of our lives,\nemployment and economy. On the other hand, it has made us more resilience and\nable to confront fear, uncertainty and impositions at home and work than ever\nbefore. It has awoken our admiration and gratefulness for the work of health\ncare workers, home delivery people and Samaritans. It has made us think deeper\nabout our relationships and environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Europe\nopens its borders today (1 July 2020) and the summer holiday is getting\nunderway, there are still controversies regarding the EU\u2019s lists on who are\nallowed to enter and not. Brazil, the USA and Russia are not on the approved\nlist; whereas Algeria, Australia and Canada are on it. The UK is neither, and\nChina is subject to confirmation of reciprocity agreement. (Source: https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2020\/06\/29\/revealed-draft-list-of-countries-that-will-be-allowed-to-enter-eu-when-borders-open<\/a>?\nSeen 30\/06\/20). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we go\nback to our pre-COVID work premises and lifestyle, let\u2019s not be complacent. It is\nnot yet totally safe. Therefore, we must remain alert and respect the remaining\nrestrictions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Do not\nshake hands or greet people with kisses on the cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Respect\nsocial distancing staying at least one metre from others; otherwise, wear\na     mask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Wash both hands often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Cough and\nsneeze into your arm and turn around\/away from people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Use\nsingle-use tissues to wipe your mouth and face, and throw these away right\naway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good\nnews is that we are born with immense capacity to adjust, readjust and survive.\n\u201cIt is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who\ncan best manage change.\u201d \u2014 Leon C. Megginson (1921-2010), Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State\nUniversity, USA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay safe and cheerful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On June 9, I resumed my face-to-face teaching after three months. Our work venue has been tailored to ensure physical distancing, and we are obliged to wear a face shield. There are arrows directing where to enter and exit; each room has information on the number of people allowed inside and a bottle of gel … Continue reading Gradual return to normality at work, home, etc.<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-political-cultural-economic-issues"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":547,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions\/547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}