Chief Exec Viewpoint | PPC99 May 2020

I know it is difficult to think about this now, but we do need to consider what life will be like after the pandemic passes and we get back to ‘normal’. 

The big question is this: will it be the same kind of normal as before lockdown? I don’t see how it can be the same kind of normal. We will all have changed as people, affected in so many different ways by the pandemic.

Covid-19 will affect not only us as individuals, but also our families, friends, neighbours, communities, colleagues, businesses, clients and wider stakeholders.

The pandemic has affected, and will continue to affect, every part of our lives. Whether we like it or not, life after Covid-19 will be different.

We didn’t have much chance to get ready for Covid-19, although we’ve known since January that it was likely to be heading in our direction.

We don’t yet know all the implications of the pandemic on our personal and business lives as we are still living through it. At what point do we get ready for coming out the other end of it? Do we have a plan for what that will look like?

The one certain thing is that it will be different for all of us. During the lockdown, we will all have had challenging and, at times, life-changing decisions to make about ourselves and our businesses.

That may have been about whether to keep going or not. Or what to do with clients if they’re open for business or closed.

Or what to do with our staff - whether to keep them on or furlough or make them redundant. Or asking if there’s support in place, and whether it’ll be enough to see us through.

The reality is that we don’t know yet what life will be like as we come out the other end of Covid-19.

I am writing this in mid-April, and I know that it is highly likely that things will get worse between now and when you read this article.

One of the models used to define change was actually developed to define grief (see below). I hope this model can help you realise that what you’ve been feeling is perfectly normal.

Importantly, there is a point on the curve where we change from looking backwards to looking forward instead. We will always be able to glance back, but our orientation will shift to one where we look forward.

Many of us will find it difficult to look forward, we are too stuck in the recent past and the here and now.

However, the time will come very soon when we have to look to the future and be ready for what lies ahead.

That moment will be different for all of us, but we need to be prepared.

Are you ready to explore the options available to you once we get through this? Have you started planning for what the future looks like? When will you be prepared to move on? What support do you need?

A new normality will return, and we need to be ready. Rest assured, BPCA will be here as your trade association to support you, when that moment comes.

IAN ANDREW
BPCA Chief Executive
ian@bpca.org.uk