I woke up this morning and everyone is looking at the $2 trillion spend from the government. I just found out it could go up to $6 trillion, to be spent in the coming months and years to fight the damage the Coronavirus has caused. Businesses have been partially closed for 10 days at this point. This is the world we’re living in. Everybody from banks to large corporations like Boeing, to our members such as the small vendor that supplies airplane parts are trying to figure out the best business plans for their organizations.
Indeed, this Novel Coronavirus has already changed and will continue to change the way we live, the way we do business, lead our professional lives, and communicate. Folks who are used to working with colleagues at the office, could stand by the water cooler and chat, or go to a small room for team meetings and one-on-ones, with coffee, tea or soda in hand, are now re-engineering themselves to pack up and go home, they said, and adjust. They don’t seem to be happy and are anxious. Folks who have always wanted to work at home are ecstatic. I am in the middle.
Cooped up in my house, working at my large dining room table, still trying to struggle with intermittent internet access because I live in an old house with thick brick walls which block signals, I still sneak into my office at night just to pick up the mail and check a few paper files, but I ended up spending hours there. I miss my office. I miss my team. I miss the real smiles and the laughter. I miss the give and take and the actual “contact sport.” I wonder how you feel. On the other hand, it’s nice working at home. I have a big dining room to spread my papers and use my books as props. I don’t have to go out for coffee or tea. It’s just ten steps away. It’s quiet. It’s quite nice, but I still miss my office. I still miss my team.
How are you coping with Covid-19?
Yours in safety and health,
Susan
Susan Au Allen
National President & CEO
US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce
Education Foundation (USPAACC)
