Letters to Australia: Reflections two years on: Three takeaways coronavirus leaves us with
AMF LETTERS TO AUSTRALIA
Fresh, Diverse Voices Imagine the Future
Letters to Australia is an initiative from the Australian Multicultural Foundation (AMF) aimed at amplifying voices not always heard in the national conversation. This online collection of ‘letters’ elevates the voices of young advocates and thinkers so they may be heard by the wider Australian community. It also seeks to encourage curiosity and open mindedness about Australia’s future in the community more generally.
Australians from all walks of life will be invited, each month, to share their intelligent, critical perspectives on Australia’s future to draw attention to issues, questions and ideas which are important to us all.
Foreword
By Meg Lee, the Australian Multicultural Foundation
Looking back over the last two years, what do you see?
What can we learn?
As we try to find a new balance between the different forms of life we’ve lived these last few years, we have an opportunity to reflect, to learn, and re-imagine the path ahead. What was our thinking two years ago? And what about now, looking back on the changes we’ve tried, struggled with, enjoyed, or imagined since then?
An emerging writer called Imana Sabrina wrote a thought provoking piece at the beginning of 2020, illuminating various potentialities and capabilities that the pandemic revealed about us as a society. She highlighted the opportunities for cultural change and the precedents for meaningful socio-political action which emerged with COVID-19.
In a rush to get ‘back to normal’, we risk overlooking the choices which lie before us, at this pivotal moment as we recreate our norms and priorities as a society.
And if we overlook a choice to pursue meaningful change, we make a de facto choice to forsake it.
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We have spent the last two years learning about what is important to us, what our strengths and supports are, and what changes we need to flourish as individuals, as communities, as human beings.
Surely, if this means anything at all, it means that we have the tools– new tools and wisdom– to build healthier, more meaningful everyday lives, routines, and expectations for ourselves. We have an opportunity before us to redefine the boundaries of what is ‘normal’: let’s seize it.
With this in mind, we invite you to read Imana’s piece, ‘Three takeaways coronavirus leaves us with’.
What have you taken away from these last two years and how can you apply it in your own life?
How can we all apply it?
Dear Australia,
2020 is (maybe) off to a great start.
Rainbows do come after storms, so maybe this is another one of them. None of us need an extra reminder of how things have changed in just the first 3 months of 2020, and we all feel the devastation that these incidents have on our physical, mental and financial states - the list goes on, of course.
Jakarta, my beautiful home (and yes despite the crazy traffic), was severely impacted by the massive floods in 2019/20 NYE, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people to lose their home in the strong current of dirty water. A week later, the disastrous bushfires hit Australia, again forcing thousands of people to evacuate and lose their community. While these were happening to my beloved home, other countries were also affected by various catastrophic events.
Alas, that was only the start as we are now in the midst of a global pandemic. The COVID-19 that started in one country rapidly made its way across borders, affecting millions of people in tens of countries. Coronavirus, unfortunately, knows no boundaries. In late February, the Head of Governments called for a state of emergency in their respective nations, requiring individuals to self-isolate and avoid physical contact with one another. The social distancing may be easy for some, but difficult for others - it’s sadly the latter for me. Moreover, the outbreak has attacked every part of our life as this health crisis has led to an economic turmoil.
The RBA Governor, Philip Lowe, said in a speech to the National Press Club in Sydney in February, The COVID-19 outbreak would have much worse effect than that of the 2003 SARS epidemic. This is because China is a larger part of the global economy and it is more closely integrated, including with Australia. The tourism and education sectors, for example, are likely to suffer billions of dollars worth of damage if the Morrison Government keep travel bans in place for more than six months
So, where do we go from here?
I am aware that half of this article sounds like a rant, but I do think it is important for us to acknowledge what has been happening and to share that with our closest ones. Despite the negative impact that COVID-19 has in and for our community, I believe there are some key takeaways we could implement in the future:
Return to our community
This whole craziness may bring up the worst in us, from the endless rants of why this is happening to hoarding groceries. Although I believe ranting is much more than solely spilling out negativity, it is ultimately a way for us to return to our community and seek or offer help. We realise that we are not alone in this crisis.
If you are feeling stressed and anxious about everything, I feel you. If you think the world is a complete mess, I hear you. If you feel lonely and hopeless, I am with you.
You are not alone.
A few weeks since the state of emergency was announced, I saw a lot more positive posts on social media. People start organising virtual events to help those in isolation and break the boredom even when they are strangers to each other. This outbreak has allowed us to foster our empathy for others. You may find yourself texting your friends who you have not contacted in ages to see how they are doing on the other side of the world. Some of you may even find yourselves offering some toilet papers for your neighbours who urgently need them. While others may find themselves reconnecting with their relatives they have not spoken in a while. This crisis, as a silver lining, gives us a legitimate reason to set aside our ego and to return to our community, whether to receive or to offer social support.
Forbes highlights the 5 main reasons why we should maintain our social connection for, not only our wellbeing, but our productivity at work. They show how feeling socially connected with your colleagues significantly helps reduce burnout and increases happiness level in employees. With how savvy our society has become with tech, maintaining social connection should no longer be bound to how physically close you are with your colleagues. If Zoom allows for meetings, surely we can hold virtual work events too. If anything, this is the perfect time to build better organisational culture to keep employees connected with one another.
The physical distancing is not the same as emotional isolation, as COVID-19 helps us realise how socially-dependent we are as humans. We need the community as much as the community needs you throughout this difficult period.
Make Working From Home (WFH) an Option
A week into March, I remember the first time I heard the news to postpone our work meetings and to reschedule them all via Zoom. A few days later, all my anticipated workshops were also moved to online events. Everything was changed in a matter of days, and we had to adapt quickly to survive.
One of the main things I've noticed is that virtual meetings can actually be as engaging as in-person ones. No doubt, physical meetings are still viewed as more interactive for some, but, the change in productivity is minimal - if not improved. Those interactive Zoom meetings, which have now become the norm during this physical distancing, show us how a lot of work and large events can be done effectively online. In fact, research on working from home reports that employees that work from home take fewer sick days, are absent-less, have higher job satisfaction, and have higher work performance ratings.
Another thing is that WFH may be one of our solutions to what's still remains as pressing issues. First, research shows how WFH substantially reduces the level of congestion in the CBD by lessening the number of cars used to drive to and from work. Subsequently, WFH eliminates (for full-time workers) or reduces (for part-time workers) cost of commuting, both time and money. Next, WFH will cut organisation's cost in office space. This has been true even since 1994 when AT&t reported $80 million savings in office overhead costs from having employees work from home. Last, WFH can significantly help people with disabilities by allowing comfortable work environment in their own house.
I'm not saying that everything should now turn to be online as opposing research explains other challenges associated with WFH, such as establishing organisational culture. But, what we can highlight from this event is that flexibility and options to working styles should be available for employees.
If what we are measuring is the level of workers' productivity, is their physical presence in the office a metric to be included or omitted?
I understand that the opportunity for working from home is not for all, however, it is still worth noting that providing WFH option will have a substantial impact in individual, organisational and societal level.
We all can actually act now
In early March, our PM announced the cancellation of non-essential events with 100+ people, and strongly encouraged everyone to stay at home. A few days later, I remember having to go to the city centre to check on my friend, and was taken by complete surprise with how Flinders St Station - one of the main train stations - was absolutely empty at 7 PM. I could count the number of people both at the station and the street with one hand!
One key takeaway I notice here is that people have been acting as urgent as what "a state of emergency" should sound to you. They act now. You probably have realised how everything unfolds rapidly in a matter of days, from the Governmental measures to shut down non-essential services in one day to empty streets from people effectively self-isolating themselves and staying at home as much as possible.
First, let's take a look at the Government's action since and during this outbreak:
China's impressive measures from erecting 16 of the Hubei's temporary hospitals in a week (to especially treat COVID-19 patients) to reducing the number of new cases to almost zero in less than 2 months since the first case. Meanwhile, countries like Taiwan and Singapore managed to effectively contain the virus from spreading despite its close proximity with China - amazing! Australia, too, immediately released AU$189 billions worth of economic support, which is about 10% of the country's GDP, for business owners and workers affected by the virus in any capacity. And the list goes on.
Anyway, the global pandemic has shown us how the Governments can take action immediately to respond to a state of emergency. No GDP figure is too much to help others.
But, let's not stop there. Let's see how individuals take their own action in this crisis.
In a matter of week, if not days, the streets are empty as we practice our physical distancing. People have been cancelling their non-essential trips to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and staying at home as much as possible. Almost every post on social media encourages everyone to isolate themselves (to the point if we went out, it felt shameful!), and how the #stayathome became trending in days. Friends and families have been sharing articles around flattening the curve, which emphasises how immediately limiting our movement is critical for the whole society, not just for ourselves.
Throughout this period, we've witnessed how (if we want to) individuals can exercise their own responsibility for the greater good. Now, we start thinking of others rather than what's merely convenient for us.
The point is that we can all act now, individually and collectively. The question is:
1. Will the Governments act as urgently as containing the spread of COVID-19 to other global pressing issues like climate emergency and world hunger?
2. Will you exercise your own responsibility to recycle and reduce overconsumption?
3. Will our communities now work together rather than be the "hero" of the story?
What has Coronavirus 2020 led to?
It is without a doubt that COVID-19 has affected us in so many different ways, and even though it is truly difficult to see the silver lining, I think there are still some. We forget our differences as we face similar challenges, we act together when we are alone at home, and we do what is right for the society rather than what is solely good for ourselves. If we take as much action as we do to contain COVID-19, I am certain that we can solve other world problems together.
If Coronavirus is a reminder that our empathy is bigger than our ego,
If Coronavirus is a means to improving our society,
If Coronavirus is a reminder that today we can act together as a community,
Then, truly, 2020 is actually off to a great start.
About the author
Growing up in both Indonesia and Australia, Imana Sabrina is strongly passionate in driving positive grassroots change in environmentalism, female empowerment, and economic development through partnership-building.
Graduating from the University of Melbourne in Economics and Management with a Diploma in Arabic Language, Imana has continuously advocated for social impact over the last five years. Imana is the co-founder of Bridging Us, a co-design consultancy bridging the gap between young people and decision-makers.
Outside of her work, Imana truly enjoys walking by the river and binge-watching Brooklyn 99 for the millionth time!