Our Advice Line - a Source of Comfort during the Pandemic
The last seven months have been pivotal on so many levels, it really is difficult to know where to begin. We witnessed the country stop in its tracks in late March, as businesses, our clients transitioned from the office environment to WFH. A task which seems straightforward but not so; where do directors, MDs, office managers, negs, property managers and administrators begin with such a gargantuan undertaking? And yet, they did up until the 12th May when the housing market re-opened to the surprise of everyone working within the sector. What followed was a flurry of activity to get Covid-19 protocols in place for the safe re-opening of the sector, a soft-opening if you will do so many letting agents, estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors - tentatively venturing into unknown territory to be certain that health and safety came first.
Our Role
We, like everyone in business, have been affected by the virus. Our CEO, Susie became ill with virus on the day of the first Lockdown, a worrying time for us all, hoping she would make a swift recovery. Our face to face training was put on hold and with the support of Tony at Pixels and Puzzles, we moved seemlessly online, not just to train but provide clients with extremely important webinars, put together to guide letting agents through what must have felt like relentless changes to existing legislation. Susie came to the webinar party in mid-April when she was certain she could cope with the level of questions being asked; we remember after every webinar or training session, she needed a nap - post-Covid fatigue was a real thing.
Has Society really changed Six Months on from Lockdown?
Pre-lockdown, which seems light years away, we were told that the norm for society across the globe was one of self-centred and egotistical behaviours. People were more interested in themselves rather than the needs and desires of others. In short, society as we knew it was self-absorbed.
Fast forward six months and life as we know has changed dramatically. We have been exposed to the unknown quantity that is a Pandemic. The words “unprecedented” , translated across the globe - “sans précédent” “isiyokuwa ya kawaida”, “senza precedenti”, “sin precedentess”, “Zenrei no nai”, “ongekend” - to become one of the most commonly used words to describe Covid-19 and the impact that it created worldwide. We witnessed pain, anguish, tragedy and sorrow as the virus impacted many many lives. However, we also witnessed human behaviour at it’s best - altruism.
The presence of altruistic tendencies are motivated by a desire to benefit someone other than oneself, often for the benefit of another person. Altruism is often used as the opposite of “selfish” or “egoistical” nature, the opposite of the person who is driven by their own motives, pushing aside the interests of anyone around them.