My Kick in the Teeth

Like many in the entertainment and hospitality industry, I have been furloughed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have temporarily lost a job that filled me with joy every day, and by all accounts, I should be anxious and filled with a sense of incredible loss. But I am not. Through this unintentional pause in my career, I have had some amazing emotional gains that I feel have dramatically improved my ability to be an even more effective employee when I return to work (which makes me think that employers who offer employees an intentional pause in work, like a sabbatical, may be onto something).

For perspective, I have held a job consecutively for 36 years without a break. I started working at age 14, as soon as I could get a work permit, in an art store. Throughout my formal education, I held various positions in sales, the restaurant industry, as a chemistry lab assistant, in customer service and even as a professional stage performer. Many times I held two jobs at once so that I could help pay for college expenses. As an adult, I started work three days after graduating with my undergraduate degree and have consistently worked full-time since. I did take a maternity leave with the birth of each of my three children, but as any new parent will tell you that is a full-time job unto itself (perhaps even time and a half). This furlough has been the first significant break in my work life since age 14, and it has taught me things that 36 years of employment did not.

To begin with, my networking skills have increased above and beyond what I did while employed. I think when we are employed, we believe we are great at networking because we regularly interact with colleagues and clients on a daily basis. It's amazing, though, what you can accomplish when your normal routine or even the ability to connect in person is taken away. COVID-19 has not only forced us to think outside the box to connect with others, but in my case, it has also given me space to make new connections and revitalize past relationships. For example, I have a weekly video meeting with other furloughed employees at my company from different divisions that I had never met prior to COVID-19 or furlough. Over the months we have built genuine friendships rather than just work connections because we have one rule - we don't talk about work. It is amazing what you learn about people when you stop talking about work. I have also become friends with many colleagues through social media to stay connected through our furlough. I feel as though I am more connected with my colleagues through these months of not working versus working directly with them for nearly three years. This activity has reinforced with me the need for leaders to remember to genuinely connect with colleagues on a personal level first before engaging in business. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day and focus on the business rather than the person. I am reinvigorated to focus on the person first.

I am also reinvigorated to make space again for personal development. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed learning new skills on an ongoing basis. Having some time to reinvest in myself has really made me feel empowered at a time when one could be feeling helpless. Over my furlough, I have enrolled in an industry certificate program, taken several online courses in e-commerce and even taught myself how to garden. On the note of gardening, I always would say I have a brown thumb and use that as an excuse for why my garden did not grow. But this summer I have proved to myself with all of the produce my garden has yielded that the brown thumb excuse was holding me back. The truth is, I never took the time to learn how to make it grow. Going forward, I will now be more conscious of using excuses to explain why I can't do something. I will now take the time to learn it so there is no excuse. Companies who invest in training their employees and providing them with opportunities to grow have figured out how to eliminate excuses and drive development which drives business. I have truly come to understand that you reap what you sow, and investing in yourself and in your employees produces growth.

One investment in myself I have also discovered is the very real concept of self care in the midst of this pandemic. When many companies think of caring for their employees, they think of benefits or tangible items they can bestow upon their workers. Several times I have been with a CEO walking around their facility and they are quick to point how how they "care" for their employees with a snack bar or gym or other facility amenity that is quickly becoming obsolete in a time where workers are working remotely due to a pandemic (and by all accounts, with corporations canceling leases, is here to stay). Sadly, employees are also often so busy that they don't have time to take advantage of these amenities anyway. Instead, I am talking about individual care and that means knowing what each employee needs emotionally to remain invested in the day to day. This begins by employees being able to have the space to define their own personal self care and take responsibility for not just being able to articulate it but also to make space for it. Through my furlough, I have rediscovered how much I love running and have made a pledge to never give it up again. As previously mentioned, I rediscovered my love of learning and I will now be more vocal about asking my employer for opportunities to learn on the job. Additionally, I have reconnected with hobbies that give me happiness, and I am already thinking about how to incorporate time for them into my post-furlough life because happiness is important in my line of work. As a leader, do your employees know what their optimal personal care is? Do you know what they need? How are you creating space for them to receive it? These are all questions I will take with me from my furlough because I now know how important they are not just for surviving a pandemic, but also to have a healthy work environment that drives the bottom line.

While the unprecedented pause in my work life was not my choice, I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to gain so much in a time of loss and uncertainty. When I received the call that I would be furloughed, I didn't realize that it would be the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. I think that Walt Disney sums my thoughts up best when he said, "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my obstacles, have strengthened me...You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you," I don't know when I will be returning to work but I know that when I do I will return as a stronger contributor to whatever my next adventure is.