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COVID-19 Black Swan

By Emily Wood With a hiatus from everyday life throughout the past year and a half, it has become evident that proficiency in skills across all aspects of one’s life, from driving to using computer software found only in the office, even our ability to socialize in-person, decreases when done less. This idea highlights people and organizations cannot pick right back up from where they left off in early 2020. Failing to understand the unintended consequence of skill erosion that emerged as people battened down the hatches for months across the world, will increase preventable accidents and incidents in one’s personal

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By Madison Hanscom, PhD COVID-19 has changed our way of life inside and outside of work. It has forced us to rethink the way we work and enjoy time off. Businesses have been hit extremely hard, and most have been forced to make fast decisions to protect workers and customers. Many companies found themselves responding in ways to stay resilient. Millions of workers transitioned to a virtual model, and for those still on site, there are new ways of doing things and approaching everyday work. As a result of these changes, cultural norms have been upended. What was valued in the past might

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By Madison Hanscom, PhD When times get tough, we often rely on our communities to help us prevail. Our communities are composed of everyone around us — neighbors, friends, those who work at the grocery store, the people who run the local brewery. 2020 has been a hard year. When people are suffering, the community suffers. There are things business leaders can do to support the community. In the research literature we study something called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) — this is when companies do good for society, and this goes above and beyond what is required by the law or regulations. This might be directed

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By KyoungHee ChoiUntil the pandemic hit, the sharing economy was disrupting many business models and was a trending topic of discussion in business circles. Renting out assets to other people as a business model has been around for decades. However, modern technology allowed for new ways to connect owners with buyers with greater ease and convenience. This mega trend impacted nearly all business sectors such as transportation (i.e. Uber, Lift), hotel (i.e. Airbnb), consumer goods (i.e. Ebay, Etsy, Rent the runaway), professional/personal services (i.e. Fiverr, Upwork) and health care (i.e. American well, Doctor on demand). Many factors helped accelerate this key trend

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By Eric Johnson As states and local governments begin to loosen the travel and commerce sequestration guidelines, many people are looking to get back to the sense of normalcy from pre-lockdown. However, a number of locales that have commenced reopening have also experienced an increase in Covid cases.  It is currently not clear if the rise is due to the greater number of people being tested, or due to actual statistical increase in cases. However, the nominal numbers are increasingly worrying both elected and health officials and there are many discussions around a potential second wave and the possibility of a new round

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D.Positive psychology is the application of empirical research to study and positively influence the human experience. It is founded in humanistic psychology and lends itself well to leaders managing employees during COVID re-entry (and beyond). Martin Seligman developed the PERMA acronym which represents key components of improving our human experiences. This includes being Positive with others, actively Engaging with them, valuing these Relationships, providing Meaning to others’ actions, and celebrating Accomplishments. Each will be briefly discussed below in relation to COVID re-entry to work. Positive Leaders need to be especially positive now with employees as they return to work. They are coping with COVID and the uncertainty

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