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The COVID 19 Pandemic and its effects
The Bloomfield team’s stories
Catherine:
The pandemic has affected me both professionally and personally. As a client manager with Bloomfield Technology, my job has (for the most part) stayed the same. We were already used to working remotely, and as such, that transition was an easy one. It did require some time helping the Bloomfield Technology clients adjust to their new norm, since we had the knowledge base to help them transition. I am lucky enough to work for a consulting company that was already mostly remote, and we have maintained a steady stream of work even through the darkest days of quarantine. As a small woman-owned business, that is a huge win, and proves our sustainability. I’m proud to work for such an amazing organization.
On the other hand, as a choral musician, we have effectively been cut off. In-person performances were obviously cancelled, and my summer that was once full of commitments to music festivals and concert series, dwindled to nothing over the course of a few weeks. Virtual choirs have been assembled, some with more success than others, but it honestly pales in comparison to creating music together in the same space and sharing the gift of music with an audience. I believe the next question to answer is how do we keep arts organizations alive, until we can perform again? I think that is a long term issue the arts world will face over the next few years, if not longer.
Life as a professional musician is uniquely different, in that all we do relies on all of our work being in person, from teaching to performing. Classical musicians had the uncomfortable realization that technology has not caught up, in so far that our genre cannot have the same reach during quarantine as your more general “Top 40” and other genres. We were wholly unprepared for a virtual shift. Musically, there have been many negative changes, as addressed above, but the quarantine has banded many of us together to work on solutions for our future, which is heartwarming to be a part of, and to watch.
Personally, there are many changes. I lost my father last September, suddenly and unexpectedly. We were merely weeks away from listing my childhood home for sale when quarantine started. I went from having the support of friends and family while dealing with this tragedy, to a sudden sense of isolation. It would have been easy enough to fall into depression, but I utilized modern technology to keep my spirits lifted. There were Zoom calls and FaceTimes to the point of annoyance, I fear. When that was not an option, I was able to spend time self-reflecting, and working through my many emotions. Loneliness, grief, fear, anxiety- all of these are easy to let get the better of your daily life. Talking about and openly admitting emotions has not always been a strength, but one worth dedicating time to work on. As a result, I have allowed myself to grow through quarantine, and to heal.
Margaret:
I always worked from home but having the whole family with me 24/7 really hindered my productivity. I need silence to work and this cannot occur in a house with two teenagers. I also really felt sorry for co-workers who had small children and were trying to work. For the safety of the child, daycare is needed. You cannot be distracted with work and also try to keep a toddler entertained and safe.
Because we could not go out to see friends, I started using work tools to connect to friends and family. I started using my work software for entertainment, like on -line family reunions, remote dinner parties, and group socialization. I really hope to continue this after lock-down, but with the lure of a nice restaurant, and seeing new places I am not sure that it is possible.
I think we are going to see a lot more people working from home. But I think that in- home daycare will be a necessity and that quiet workspace areas will be needed.
Georgiana:
For me, professionally, not very much has changed. I work remotely both with Bloomfield and in my other professional activities in the higher education, research and journalistic fields. The one thing which has changed has been my ability to travel for conferences. Luckily this issue was resolved by hosting events virtually.
Personally, the inability to travel and visit my family in Europe (Romania) has been the biggest problem I have had because of the pandemic. We continue to stay connected through technologies such as WhatsApp, which so far I would deem as the best phone calling app, although I would like it if it would expand to video calling on the computer as well so we can see each other on a bigger screen.
Shipping of packages took longer and there were some products which would fly off the shelves before we could get them. But I am grateful to the men and women of this country and the world, who continued to work on the front lines and in jobs essential for the continuation of at least the minimum necessary for semi- normal life in 2020 to continue.
One positive has been that I have been able to connect more often to the US side of my family, and we discovered the joy of e-reunions. I hope this will continue after the crisis.
I am sure that after the pandemic, many companies, institutions and individuals will take a closer look at the virtual office model and will find ways to invest in it. Working smart, with daily targets and flexible schedules and keeping a healthy work life balance will probably be the solution of the future.
However, I am looking forward to traveling again.
Laura:
The pandemic has greatly affected the way in which I am receiving my education. As a whole, my university has transitioned into an online learning platform, through video chat and interactive features on our learning platform. We have been able to successfully finish our semester and continue this for summer classes. The face to face component is replaced by Zoom and interaction is now through discussion boards. Although many components of my life have changed, completion of my credits and the course curriculum have not. The pandemic has affected my personal life, as many of my daily activities have changed. Working from home and being involved in different ways of interacting has been a struggle and difficult to adapt to.
There have been some positives to all of this. Because of the pandemic , in my online classroom formatting, the flexibility for other things has increased. I have been able to spend more time with my family and friends. Still, some negatives include problems with my focus and motivation. It has been really hard to stay on track, having lost the face to face component in my classes and other aspects of life.
I do hope some things change in the future and go back to how they were. For instance, involvement in the larger community. Being away from my university and focused online has not allowed me to get involved in many activities I participate in yearly on campus.
Andrew:
The pandemic has affected my life in a few ways. For instance, in my studies, the full experience of tutoring does not transition very well into the online environment. In study halls you don’t need help every five seconds but only occasionally as you study. So, the dynamic is quite different in a zoom conference call, where one can’t simply have to tutor on call for an hour while they study and maybe ask some questions or not. So far at least, this experience has been quite different. In terms of my actual classes, most were online anyway so there were not many changes there.
Some definite negatives I have observed have had to do with the closing of restaurants and other facilities. Driving around for jobs, one eventually runs into the need for food or for restrooms and if facilities are closed, the driving experience can become a bad one.
There have also been some good things brought on by the pandemic. I have been spending more time with family and have been able to connect with relatives living far away more often.
In the future, I hope that people will continue to explore the virtual office idea. Depending on your job this can be a great advantage. You can set your own schedule and targets per day or week. And sometimes when certain family problems occur you might be able to work from home during such matters, on your own schedule, rather than take off from work.
I do, however, hope that in the future we can go back to normal in terms of ability to travel, entertainment, sports, social life etc. People need the physical presence of others, even if it is just from time to time.