Blessed

This is probably the most trying week I’ve ever experienced. I’d say that’s true for many of us. However, due to a few chance things that fell into place for me over the last few months, I’m significantly less stressed than I could be.

I started a new full-time job on January 20th. I spent most of 2019 giving it a go as a freelance writer. Around November it started to become clear that it was going to be far more challenging to earn a stable living than I had imagined. So Jason and I started discussing my going back to a full-time HR job.

I fell into my current role sorta haphazardly, but decided I was going to give it my all. I have the experience and it seemed this was a great opportunity to build an HR program from scratch. I’d be able to put my mark on this organization. And they offered me a generous package so I took the plunge.

Fast forward a few short weeks and I’m leading the charge of a COVID-19 response team and am fully engrained in this company in short order. This is the most challenging things I’ve gone through as an HR professional—keeping employees safe, staying abreast of daily updates, being a good listener as people process this situation, communicating with full transparency. I’ve learned more this week than I did over the last 2 years.

I’m tired. Partially from working long hours, even from home, but more from the mental toll this is taking. Add on top of the work stress, the challenge of my boys being home from school trying to plug away at their studies, and it’s no wonder I’m feeling a little sluggish.

And I’m not alone. We’re all going through some version of what I just described as well as the concern for the health and safety of ourselves and our loved ones. But as I consider my circumstances, I can’t help but feel wildly blessed.

I’m able to work from home and that will continue for the foreseeable future. So many people I know have lost their entire income. I’ve stumbled into a great organization that puts people above all else. I was starting to think this unicorn of a company didn’t exist anymore. So even though I’m experience COVID-19 fatigue, I’m doing so feeling blessed that I was lucky enough to settle into this new role just in time.

The biggest blessing has been helping a large group of people deal with this challenge. This entire experience has reminded me why I loved HR in the first place—the ability to make a difference. Today alone, I talked a couple people off the ledge, passed along several articles, deciphered some legislation, and hosted a virtual happy hour so we could all relax a bit and laugh.

I’m beyond blessed to have some financial security in these uncertain times, the flexibility to be home with my kids, and to be working for and with great people who have their priorities properly aligned. Now if we could just figure out how to find more hand sanitizer, I’d be sitting on easy street.