Prior to my vacation, my job was kind of winding down. I do a lot for my company, and am an important resource, but my boss and I are having a hard time defining exactly what it is I do... and more importantly, who should pay me to do it. I fully expected to come back from vacation to a day of work, where my boss said, "Thanks for everything you have done, but we are restructuring and do not have a position for you any more." Enter COVID-19. Now all the things I did as a sideline - people walking by my desk asking me questions, or inviting me to impromptu meetings, or getting me involved in other projects - has really perked up. People are MUCH more interested in my input/opinion on their project, when they are working alone in the echo chamber of their spare bedroom or den. So here I am, sitting at home, on my work computer, without much to do other than answer questions as they pop up. And I'm bored. But people are clearly relieved to have me back and available again. So maybe I will still have a job after all this is over! In other weird news, the huge vehicle fleets we generally work with (5-30k vehicles) are taking advantage of the down time to make some purchases and get some projects rolling! Our sales are actually UP over last year, and we look to come out of Q2 with a significant profitability INCREASE. Weird times.
I mean everyone's had their sand castle kicked over. We've effectively lost an employee through circumstance, we're now looking at emergency office space so we can separate peds and maternity and we're investing in like $5k worth of medical equipment. We've also discovered that we have employees that are great at what they do but... suck at the stuff they're not used to. now is the time for the generalists.
They keep sending emails at the hospital I work for saying "All you non-essential staff who've been ordered home are free to come volunteer in other departments...please...anyone...anyone." I've yet to reply, although I do feel really bad about it.now is the time for the generalists.
The pendulum swings mightily, doesn't it? :-) I'm getting into the flow better today. Had a couple of video meetings yesterday and this morning, and it's been funny ... I can't even remember the industry terms we used for common things! I keep waving my hands... " You know... the thingie-thing that the customer has to fill out before the tech can go on site for the installation...? What is it called?" But the cobwebs are falling away. I don't expect my workload to increase, though, so taking this all in the spirit of Ying, is a great suggestion. Love it.