Stress!
Karen Collet
If there's one common element to all the crises that I, Karen Collet, have experienced in almost 20 years at TU Delft, it is the fact that I couldn't have imagined them beforehand. And that is certainly true for what we are going through right now. Working in Communication, I am struck by the enormous demands this crisis is placing on internal communication in particular. Seen through the eyes of the media, we are just one of the many parties affected, and certainly not the most newsworthy. And we don't need to go to great lengths to explain the situation to other external stakeholders. So we're primarily engaged in explaining to employees and students how the corona crisis and the government's policy affects the university, and what decisions our board members are taking in response to this. Hats off to the crisis team that is working hard to keep the Q&As on the homepage up to date, adding information as it happens and sending out newsletters ... And this is just at central communication level. The faculties are working just as hard to inform their people. Respect!
But the fact that our emphasis is now on internal communication is not the biggest difference between this and other crises. The greatest difference is that it is also crisis at home. Finish your dinner quickly, because the prime minister is about to address the people – the first time in who knows how many years. And just as you're settling down to your favourite soap, you hear via the app that there's yet another government press conference. What will they announce now, I think. Should I nip out to buy some toilet paper after all? One minute you think ‘bring it on, that virus, I'm healthy', and the next minute you're asking yourself if all those shopping baskets are safe. Bah! And watching a TV series, my first thought is, ‘don't stand so close to each other!’ It's constantly in your thoughts. And to be honest, I'm fed up with it already. Stop with those press conferences in the evening! People need their evenings to relax and calm down.
Because the next day you try to ‘work as usual', only from home. Maybe with ‘homeschooling’ children around who need to be fed and watered and who more than anything need your attention. Meanwhile, you're getting used to Skype, teleconferencing and all those things. In short, it's a crazy world we're living in. Much has been written in recent years about overstimulation in modern society. Overstimulation? We had no idea! And the end is not yet in sight. If we want to survive this, it may be time to make some agreements. ‘Ether discipline’ if you like. Let me make a start. (1) Open the discussion on the limits to what we can ask of each other. (2) Communicate your own limits, and try to respect other people's limits. I know it's difficult, because everyone is different and everyone's circumstances are different. (3) After office hours, don't send any work-related messages if they can keep for the next working day. Those are my suggestions. My telephone is on, but I've muted most of my app groups for the rest of the evening. Is there a good film on?