Has the pandemic had an impact on the importance of change?
We have a chat with our Office Manager Christine Young, on how her role and responsibilities have changed throughout the pandemic and what advice she has on those who are struggling to keep motivated.
E: So when did you join Engage and what was your primary role?
C: "I started working with Engage in March 2020 (just before coronavirus took over the world) I was taken on to be the Business Administrator."
E: Did you have any concerns surrounding your job, considering you started during the start of the pandemic?
C: "A month into the role and I was starting to get a little concerned, I was concerned that the company wouldn’t be able to financially keep me on (last in, first out) which was not the case at all, thankfully."
E: How did you adapt to the 'new normal' working conditions during Lockdown?
C: "When we went into lockdown I was working from home and it was lonely and overwhelming as I hadn’t really built a relationship with my team and being a new start I was still unsure on what my job responsibilities were as a Business Administrator, so I couldn’t really settle into my new role which was frustrating.
Over time I came to terms that WFH would be the way forward for Engage, so I had regular contact with my team through Zoom and WhatsApp which helped a lot."
E: Now that you're mostly back in the office, what have you found most about your role that's changed?
C: "I am now back in the office full time and lockdown has made my responsibilities shift from the normal administrator role filling, emails, to getting involved in lots of new different projects such as marketing, various project work and candidate searching and candidate screening.
This has helped me grow and develop my skill set and hopefully, I can continue to get more involved and continually adapt and learn."
E: Do you see your role evolving next year?
C: "I am very lucky to have a great and inspiring team and able to speak about how I feel and voice my concerns and opinions to my manager, who was very understanding and supportive and has encouraged me to expand my options on what direction I want to go in within the business.
So yeah, I can definitely see myself taking on more responsibility into next year"
E: What advice would you give to those who are maybe struggling with self-motivation?
C: "I'd suggest initially, to really voice your concerns or aspirations to maybe your colleagues or your manager, they are there to help you, remember, you're not alone!
It can be difficult to motivate yourself to try and learn new skills when morale is pretty low, but it can be a confidence booster and open up a heap of opportunities down the line."
For tips on how to boost your resilience whilst protecting your mental health, head over to our blog on Mental Health Support during a Winter Lockdown.