Episode 83: Time After Times

We are at EPISODE 83! And, we are wrapping up our fully remote season 3!

We recorded on June 21 and were 3 weeks into the announcement of BC’s restart plan. If our COVID numbers continue in the right direction, by the time we return in the fall, we will be back to recording in person AND many of us will be back to office life.

Many people have described these COVID times as “a great pause” or “a great reset” -- an opportunity to reflect on what really matters to us. That got us thinking...after 15+ months working from home, what might office life be like in the “AFTER” times?

Key Takeaways...for this unprecedented season:

• We are super grateful for technology that has allowed us to keep recording through the pandemic. Doing the podcast has been important for our mental health.

• We are super duper grateful that people have kept listening to us! Thank you.

• And we are extra super grateful for Kylie generously providing her editing skills each episode. We <3 Kylie!

We’ll be back in the fall! Take care!

Episode 75: COVID is a Jerk! (Guardian Edition)

Our latest episode is the 3rd in our DBAJAW Guardian series… our series of episodes focusing on the concerns and perspectives of future business and HR professionals. We call them the guardians because they are the next generation that will strive to keep the jerkiness down at work.

This conversation’s guest co-host, Nura Salous, is a current student at Concordia University of Edmonton, she loves pasta, and due to the time difference, she made the HUGE effort to record with us at 6am her time! Thank you, Nura!!

While we have talked a lot about COVID-19 and how the global pandemic has impacted our working lives, with Nura we tackle it from the perspective of a university student.

Key Takeaways:

• Necessity forced the building of some new skills -- learning how to cope with uncertainty and how to adapt to change.

• The resilience we develop during this time will translate well into workplaces! We’ll face challenges every day, just like now, and be able to tackle them with more confidence. 

• The pandemic experience makes us realize the day-to-day things we took for granted that now we miss -- even walking in the freezing cold to class!

Episode 74: This is Still Hard - A Pandemic Lament

Look. For many people, it’s been a long year (yes, a YEAR!) of very little face to face and much more screen to screen. Through it all, we have tried to adapt in various ways. Some of these ways have proven to be more successful than others. But no matter what, we still find ourselves saying: this stuff is hard. Really HARD. (Okay, two of us are saying it more than the other!) By stuff we mean communicating. Connecting. Keeping up relationships over a screen. Having a solid read on things. Working as a team. Feeling like a team.

In this episode, we (two of us more than the other!) get to whine and bemoan and grieve and complain about all the things we miss about having a proper sit down with a person and being in a workplace, and actually interacting with other humans there.  

Key Takeaways:

• We miss the real vibe of shared energy that happens when a bunch of people are in the same space. That feeling when a whole room of people start to laugh about something...and then just can’t stop. :)

• Sandy is happy to not have people regularly ask her, “Oh, hey, do you have a minute??” (Which really means 30 minutes.) We feel you, Sandy.

• Who knows!? Maybe the pandemic will lead to a real change in the bra business! No more underwire ever!!

Episode 65: Don't Make Me (m)Ask You Again!

In this episode, we are visiting the topic of the pandemic, again. Because, let’s be real, it’s our reality! And it significantly impacts E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

We are so happy to have a guest with us...someone whose job has really morphed as a result of COVID-19. Sara Martin joins us to speak about what it’s been like to take on the responsibility of COVID safety protocols in the workplace. Co-workers commit (mostly unintentional) COVID jerky offenses, and then the COVID officer feels like a jerk having to call them out on them! It feels like a bit of a lose-lose scenario! Sheesh. All that to say that, over the past several months, whether it be about masks or hand-washing, Sara has been overheard saying, oh, just a few times, “Don’t make me ask you again!” 

Key Takeaways:

• Because this, the pandemic, is a new experience, every decision may feel awkward! And you might feel uncomfortable because you don’t know the answers. These are normal feelings!

• Adaptability is the name of the game. Be ready to pivot quickly and frequently.

• It’s okay to cry, and cry often.

And...an extra one for this episode:

• Being the “COVID officer” is an important job! And yet, it doesn’t always get a ton of enthusiastic, sincere gratitude. So, to all people doing this work in workplaces...THANK YOU!!!!!

Episode 61: You Can't Mask a Jerk!

We’re back! We’ve taken a summer break and now...here we are, at the start of season THREE! 

Before we get into our real talk, we have an update to how we are trying things this season: we are going to be releasing episodes every other week, with the occasional longer break over the course of the whole year. 

We are kicking things off with at least one tradition -- a conversation about ETIQUETTE. This time, it’s specifically about COVID-19 etiquette and work!

Key Takeaways:

• Masks are a good reminder that we are in a pandemic. They help to ensure physical distancing because it makes us remember that we shouldn’t get too close to each other!

• A good thing that has come out of living and working in the current climate, people are asking for consent a lot more. Entering offices, elevators, touching someone else’s computer, etc. We hope this increase in consent-asking continues and spreads!

• Another positive is people expressing appreciation more often. Co-workers are recognizing the effort being put in by the support teams and by people in roles that don’t always get as much gratitude. Thank you!

Bonus Takeaway: if you are looking to go to a brewery, Red Truck has done an AMAZING job with their COVID protocols! Shout out to Red Truck. :) And, their beer is delicious. https://redtruckbeer.com/

Episode 60: Remote Reflections

Wow. We are at episode 60! Not only have we recorded a 40-episode this season, we have recorded 11 of them remotely. Thanks to our amazing editor Kylie for making that possible!

The three of us are huge fans of reflecting on our experiences to look for the growth opportunities. Given that this is our last episode for this season and we have had 4 months of living in COVID times, this seems like a good moment to stop and reflect.

Key Takeaways:

• We’ve all noticed we’ve got some strong feelings about being introverted, extroverted, and working from home: Sandy likes working from home and having her own schedule; Sarah really likes working at home... but ALONE; and Tara actually really likes spontaneous social interactions in the workplace!

• Businesses and individuals have adapted so quickly and been able to operate in more flexible ways with, in some cases, the vast majority of their employees working from home -- hopefully this level of flexibility will continue into the future and will increase the accessibility of certain work environments.

• Maybe we’ll finally see the permanent demise of the handshake! And, hopefully, that toe tap greeting is short-lived and also disappears just as fast as it emerged. (Please!)