EP45: The New Normal

<p>On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2, a pandemic.</p> <p>The announcement followed a rising sense of alarm in the preceding months over a new, potentially lethal virus that was swiftly spreading around the world.</p> <p>Over a year and nine months later, we look back on one of the most challenging periods in recent memory.</p> <p>How has this period of time affected you, your family, your business?</p> <p>With over 49.8 million COVID cases and over 795,000 deaths in the USA (as of Dec 2021) we assuredly have been affected one way or another.</p> <p>Where I live, in Florida, there were over 62,000 deaths thus far.</p> <p>Millions of people have been displaced, lost their jobs, lost family members, and lost their zeal.</p> <p>But there have been some good to come from this also.</p> <p>People have been reminded that their health is their responsibility. Like it or not, whether you support vaccinations or not, your life and your families depend on the decisions you make individually.</p> <p>Many businesses have been forced to increase their wages as millions of people choose to quit their jobs in search of better opportunities.</p> <p>Employers are learning a long-forgotten lesson. People matter. To have and keep good, hard-working people, their employees must be respected and their hard work acknowledged.</p> <p>Even many nurses and aides are leaving their positions because they have been overworked and quite frankly they too have been overwhelmed.</p> <p>Right now, some states are still seeing their hospitals completely overwhelmed. Their capacity to help is limited by the amount of available staff, infrastructure, rooms, ventilators, and the like.</p> <p>Now, more than ever, many are streaming online to make a better, more dependable life for themselves.</p> <p>With jobs available, still at low wages, many are choosing to reject them in favor of higher-paying jobs, and others choosing to work for themselves.</p> <p>No matter how you look