COVID Updates and Office Communication

Since I have returned to the U.S., the situation with the Coronavirus in Tennessee has been one big and confusing rollercoaster ride. Some days the local news is full of increased cases and speculations of a long quarantine, other days there have been a decrease in the number of new cases and hopeful projections of the virus being under control by June. There really is no telling how this is going to evolve, not just locally but worldwide. Maybe this makes me a bad citizen, but I haven’t been paying attention to the news much at all. I know that I cannot do anything to change what is happening right now beside staying inside and social distancing, so I feel that if I just follow the stay at home order that there is no reason to continue torturing my mind with the thought of thousands of sick and dying people. Luckily no one in my family has had any symptoms, which is all anyone can ask for at this point. 

Even though I am no longer at my internship, I have still stayed in touch with my office mates. I was lucky to work in an office that was very good at workplace communication, which is why I think we are still able to stay in touch. My supervisor and boss were very professional, but they made it a point to be very approachable. They were always willing to let me ask questions and even repeat instructions if I was unable to understand the details of a task. This was essential to my ability to learn and take on more complicated tasks later. When there were times that I did a task but was unclear of the instructions, they were never angry at me. Instead my supervisor acknowledged that it could have been hard for me to understand since I had never done the task before and took the time to explain what she wanted from me. 

On a personal level we also spent at least a few minutes of every day talking about our personal lives. These discussions were more than just “How are you?” “fine, how are you?” discussions. We would talk about what we had for dinner the night before, what our plans were for the upcoming evening, and would discuss our families. It felt like I was not only welcome as a member of the professional team, but that they were welcoming me as a friend. This also contributed to my work ethic. I felt a responsibility to them not only as a colleague, but as a friend to make their lives easier and better by doing my job correctly the first time. Because they were so friendly, I was less afraid to ask them questions. This level of communication was essential to my growth as a professional. I hope to carry what I learned with them into my professional life in the States as well. 

I hope everyone is staying safe and sane during all of this! I will be back with another post on Tuesday!