It is now a year since the UK was first plunged into lockdown - well, technically it’s 367 days but who’s counting…? The last 12 months have been a lesson in patience for us all as across every industry and demographic, a new way of life and work has attempted to insist it is the new normal. The eagerly anticipated roadmap for exiting lockdown restrictions announced by Boris Johnson in February, however, has revealed the demand for a new normal that looks a whole lot like the old one.
Alongside the air of anticipation that surrounds a post-lockdown world and the natural questions about what that might look like, there is an inbuilt wariness regarding whether this easing will actually take place. Or, to paraphrase Robert Lowell, whether the light at the end of the tunnel is just another train. This combination of anticipation and wariness is a complex one and can have ramifications for those working in that in-between state between now and the unknowable “later”.
With the end ostensibly in sight, those of us who moved abruptly to remote working and have spent the year getting to grips with all the tools and channels that came with that, are bound to feel a sense of ennui kicking in. Marathon runners have a term for this, they call it “the Wall”, that moment in a race where you feel the will to keep running start to leave you and you begin to question whether there is a finish line at all.
It’s a concept I must admit I became familiar with during a viewing of ‘Run, Fat Boy, Run’ and not through any lockdown-inspired newfound love of pounding the pavement, but it struck a chord with me as it articulates a common thread in many current industry discussions. Given the similarities between what many insurance professionals are feeling right now and what “the Wall” means to marathoners, it stands to reason that the solutions that work for them might also be applicable.
As with so much in the insurance profession, prevention really is better than the cure and there are several key ways in which those working in insurance can mitigate any slump in energy caused by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Simple steps include an outside-in approach to your physical and mental wellbeing, from creating a flexible, balanced and achievable food plan which allows an even spread of energy throughout the day, to achieving 10,000 steps a day where possible.
Many insurance businesses have created enhanced employee wellbeing programmes during the pandemic and, where these are available, employees must take advantage of these opportunities and offer productive feedback on such initiatives. Many runners agree that “the Wall” is as much a mental block as it a physiological reaction and, with that in mind, the need for a mindful and considered approach to the mental health of ourselves and others is essential to mitigating lockdown fatigue.
A large part of this mindset is preparing for the future, something that is more difficult right now than many could have anticipated. Making plans for a post-COVID world is simultaneously a tempting and a daunting prospect, so a good compromise might be to make plans that are inherently flexible.
Put that date in the diary for a drink with friends and, if the lockdown doesn’t ease in time, make it a Teams call. Set up that get together will your colleagues and/or employees and make it happen one way or another. There is no getting away from the fact that remote working has not captured the unique joy of an in-person meeting, yet there is real value to be had from such catch-ups, whichever medium they take, and, even when you can’t face them, there is likely somebody on that call who could really do with having that touch-point.
The bad news is that we all hit such walls eventually and no amount of exercise or mindfulness activities is going to prevent us from doing so, so perhaps talk of avoidance would more correctly be labelled a discussion about delaying the inevitable. But the good news is that walls are there to be climbed, and where they can’t be climbed, to be knocked down.
I am reminded of an anecdote from the Irish author Frank O’Connor who described throwing his cap over seemingly insurmountable walls as a child as it meant he had to find a way over. And, while none of us willingly threw our cap over this particular wall, I have no doubt insurance professionals will each find and take the best route forward and, once over, throw the ladder back to those who are still struggling.
