As We Look Back, What's the Best Metaphor for the Disruption of 2020?

Was last year really only 365 days long?

Remember that game we played as kids, I think it was called Red Light/Green Light. You know, where one kid would turn around, say “green light” and we would all try to get to the finish line where the kid was standing with their back to us before the “Red Light” change was announced. The trick to success was being able to sneak up quickly enough or look “frozen” when the kid turned around with the “Red Light” announcement so as not to be sent back to “GO.”

Well, there was always that one kid who would keep us frozen for the LONGEST TIME. There we stood, suspended in time, waiting to be set free from our stuckness, wondering if we could ever move on from this moment.

(Uh-oh, Consultant metaphor alert!)

Was 2020 anything like this for you? Do you have a favorite metaphor you have been using to describe 2020 as we begin to embrace 2021?

Perhaps a better question: Is there any reason to be optimistic about this New Year?

Last year: Did you start to come back to work “at the office” but were told we had to refreeze? Did OSHA regulations mean you had to redo many things you had just redone and you stood in place bewildered? Did your plans for moving forward have to be put on hold repeatedly?

Thinking back, at Cascade Employers Association our consultants were diligently supporting our members’ teams to improve workplace conversations and productivity. Compliance, Culture, Connection — that’s us. A lot of our members were still adapting to remote work; a lot were figuring out how to get stuff done with proper safety and social distancing; quite a few decided to stop saying, “when things get back to normal.” Work teams were hunkering down, getting to the other side of the uncertainty permeating our workdays. (Uh-oh Consultant observation alert!) And so many were commenting, with some surprise and optimism, that productivity may have actually improved during 2020.

Of course, we were still concerned about the well-being of our team members, the economy, and disrupted routines. Somehow a whole bunch of work teams, despite the disruption, leaned into success in 2020. We won’t be able to fully measure the residual effects of last year’s disruption and stories of resiliency for some time. So what did healthy workplaces do?

Well…reach-outs proved to be beneficial. Offering specific assistance to coworkers was good. Reminding team members about resources like the Employee Assistance Program, that’s good. Cutting people some slack was also effective.

Stepping into January, there just may be a bunch of good reasons to be optimistic about thriving in 2021. Sometimes a few things crumble to make way for the new and better. (Sparing you the Consultant history lesson). If necessity is the mother of invention, then we can easily declare that 2020 provided plenty of this “necessity” thing. Maybe 2021 gives us a little less necessity and a little more room for reflecting on what we have learned. We would love to hear your human spirit stories; we would love to hear your new-ways-replacing-crumbled-old-ways stories; we would love to hear your “2020-actually-turned-out-OK” stories. Please share your stories with us.

But, today’s question: What metaphor were you using to describe 2020? At Cascade, Jenna Reed used the roller coaster metaphor. Others referred to shifting tectonic plates. Was last year like a Tsunami? Fire-fighting your favorite story? Did it seem like ghosts and demons? Sports and war metaphors are always popular. Alien invasion anyone? I’ve heard some have a favorite that goes something like: “Act like a hedgehog”- roll up in a ball and wait for better times. Please send us your favorite metaphor.

It might be fun to have this conversation with your work team, perhaps at a brief meeting separated from your 2021 strategic plan. You can discuss and process the waves of disruption that your workplace has experienced. You can rate your COVID-19, or other-fatigue, on a 1-5 scale. You can trade metaphors! You can admire the remarkable strength of the human spirit (especially when we are able to lean on each other). You can say good-bye to the story of 2020. You can eye the future.

Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous new year.