The pandemic has entered its9th month. During this time, our lives, social life, hygiene rules, the way we do business, everything has changed in many ways. Everyone has adapted to the situation, but each of us has adapted to the rules of this new order at different levels. Sometimes, when we have to deal with someone who does not follow the rules as much as we do, there are moments when we do not know how to behave or the other party may ignore our warnings. I am sharing our correspondence with a person who encountered such a situation anonymously below.
Dear Ms. Bahar,
I am a bit confused about the pandemic rules at work. We were recently asked to go back to the office despite the growing pandemic. In fact, most of the things we do can easily be done from home. This week they sent us all an email asking us to keep the door to our offices open while we work to ensure better ventilation. I'm trying to follow this new rule, but when people are walking down the hallway, they'll pop in and come up to my desk and talk to me. I find it difficult to keep my social distance, and I feel torn between breaking a new rule and closing the door, and being subjected to the inconsideration of my coworkers. I have raised my concerns about this with my coworkers once or twice, but my warning is only remembered for a few days at best. I know that everyone has a different comfort level and I'm on the more cautious side of the spectrum, but how can I maintain my mental and physical health when this is going on in the workplace? I would appreciate it if you could help me urgently.
Signature,
COVID Victim
Dear COVID Victim,
I have a game-changing suggestion for you. And I think it has a very good chance of success. If it really works, you'll never have to talk about it again. I got this idea from Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change, published by our partner Vital Smarts. To support my suggestion, I would like to share 2 stories from this book with you. The first one is the story of Ed Feeney. Ed was Vice President of System Performance when Emery Air Freight pioneered the use of standard shipping containers.
Ed fought and tried everything to make sure that the loading crews only received containers up to 80% of their capacity. He tried sending remindersfor this. He tried bonuses. He tried threats. It didn't work... It took relentless vigilance to get people to change their behavior by consistently fulfilling even a simple request. Until he tried something simple. Finally, he created a visual sign. Inside each container, he drew a line with a label that read "Fill Up To Here". The number of fully filled containers soon rose to 95%.
The second similar story in the book takes place in a hospital. The hospital's infection control team fought really hard to get caregivers to wash their hands before and after contact with patients. They tried reminders, campaigns. None of that worked. When they drew a line in the sand, that's when the breakthrough happened. They drew a dark yellow line on the threshold of every door and attached a disinfectant gel attachment to the wall right next to the door opening handle. Above the yellow line, they put the warning "WIWO" (Wash In, Wash Out). Here, too, "compliance" has increased rapidly and significantly. I suggest you do the same. Draw a line in front of your door and put a nice reminder sign next to it.
"Thank you for talking to me from behind the line."
Please let me know if this simple but effective method worked in your case!
Greetings, Love
Bahar Sen
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