Pandemic Survivors

Sitting here thinking of how this pandemic has affected society. Comparing last year to this year and listening to the public struggle with what do believe in and how to process. This is something I am forced to do on a daily basis.

Who really is struggling? Employers or the unemployed or the employed that deal with being understaffed? It is not that easy. There is not a simple answer.

I listen to both sides. I take calls daily from the public who are on unemployment and help them to process their claims. I have learned so much simply by listening. I feel listening is the one thing that society has forgotten to do!

My calls consist of me asking questions to qualify the public for temporary income insurance. Some people simply are choosing not to work because they do make more on unemployment than they would if working in their field of work. However , there are many out there truly struggling and for so many different reasons. Reasons not talked about in the news or on social media.

One thing that this pandemic has done to the the workers of our nation is caused anxiety. Anxiety to leave their home, which is making them incapable of work search. True fear has been planted in their minds and is debilitating them. What I do for them is talk them through it and offer recourses but more importantly I brain storm with them giving them ideas on employment or career options that could help alleviate that anxiety. I have been told many times that I have helped people so much and set them on their way to get back on their feet.

The other thing the pandemic has done is taken confidence away from the working public. Stripped them of their ideas of who they once thought they were. After over a year of applying for jobs and not getting a response at all or being shot down due to the surplus of applicants out there or simply the lack of work that was available, they have lost confidence in their own earned job skills. Now 18 months later, have little confidence to apply for anything let alone the career path they once new. I empathize with them and talk to them about recourses for resume building and job search options.

Then there is the social distance side affect. This one I feel is the main reason why people are not working. People have been socially disconnected for so long and now are forced back into the world with the threat of having zero income, the threat of catching the virus, and the challenges of competing with all of the other applicants. All while feeling so disconnected that the very thought of doing simple tasks like going to the grocery story is overwhelming. Being cut off from society is very damaging to the nervous system, and yet they are being yelled at "go get a job!" which is also traumatizing on an entire other level!

There is also the employer side of it all. There are so many businesses out there needing the work yet closing their doors because there isn't enough money to hold them open. So how do I help the world?

Everyday I do everything I can to unite the two. The employees and the employers. I see the struggle and the pain and the fear. I also see the abuse of the system! I take every call the same and educate each individual as much as I can per their personal situation. I tell them they all are important and that they can do it. When needed, I provide tough love by telling them they need to get a job and light that fire under their butts! At the end of every call, no matter how hard they can be, I get thanked and am told that I have helped them by giving them a new direction and gave them the strength to get back out there and find jobs, housing and whatever is that they need.

What I do is better our communities and economy. And mostly pick up people who are so low that they feel they have no other options. I cry often during my calls as it is very overwhelming to listen to all of the distress out in our societies, however, I used that to empower myself so I have the strength to be that ear or shoulder for them! So I can lift them up and tell them that they matter! My job may seem small to most, but as I see it, I am the one picking up that phone. I am the one helping connect the dots while the pandemic brought us all down. I am blessed to know that when we hang up the phone, they will never forget me and my words will always be in the back of their head... YOU GOT THIS... YOU WILL BE OK.