How COVID ended my healthcare career
Oct 10, 2021
When COVID hit and the freedom to travel was suddenly taken away from, us my world came crashing down hard and fast. Disconnecting, slowing down and spending time with myself was not something I wanted to do. On the outside, I had a perfect life and all the security and stability of someone with a 21-year corporate career in healthcare.
I loved my fast-paced life, slowing down was not something that I did. I was working in a dream job, helping people living with Type 1 diabetes, but somehow I forgot how to look after myself. I exercised regularly, ate mostly healthy food but on the inside, I felt disconnected from myself, my family and my friends. All of this came after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder in early 2019. My body was trying to get my attention!
In April 2021 came the shocking news that my position was made redundant and somehow I knew that another job in healthcare was not the answer. Whilst the news spread quickly amongst my colleagues, many opened up about their struggle, trying to keep it all together. Many were too afraid to ask for help because job loss was suddenly in the back of everyone’s mind.
That’s when the penny dropped, we all treated self-care and time to connect with ourselves as a luxury rather than a priority, especially during those uncertain times. Most of us have forgotten what it feels like to follow our intuition, take time out and sit in silence.
My Sydney and Melbourne friends have been doing it tough for weeks because they are trying to do it all. As someone who has decided not to have kids, I can’t even comprehend what they must be going through. It’s not just about trying to fit everything into the day, but the emotional toll of explaining to your babies that this is not normal and that they will be able to see their friends again soon. It's heartbreaking.
Gallup reported well before the pandemic hit, that 85% of the workforce were disengaged and if we didn’t already have an exhausted corporate workforce by the end of 2019, we certainly have it now.
Once the kids go back to school or kindergarten, book in some time for yourself and take a day off work! If you are a dad and your wife has been doing the hard lifting, ask her what you can do to give her some time to herself. She needs it! The same goes for managers, encourage your team members to just take a day off, they will be more productive as a result of being rested.
Ultimately, disconnecting and slowing down helped me formulate my personal values and excavate parts of myself again that I had previously lost.
Find a space to reset and fill up your cup, you deserve it! And if you really don’t know how to do that for yourself, we will always be there to help, because that’s our mission moving forward.
