Preparing to have a break over Christmas

It's that time of the year again – the Australian summer is here, and Christmas is just around the corner. Most people are looking forward to some time off work and with lockdown easing we may be excited to have that long awaited family reunion and some summer fun with our families and friends.

What a strange year we have all had – from extreme bushfires to navigating our way through a global pandemic – and as if lockdown wasn’t bad enough - American politics displayed 24/7 on Australian TV like a bad soap opera, having us wondering what is the world coming to!

On some level, 2020 is probably a year you want to forget - being a year full of shocks and surprises, from bushfires to a global pandemic sending us all into lockdown. Introducing not only new ways of doing things and working– but new words that are now second nature like iso, zoom and hotspots.

As working from home for some became the norm for half of the year, it sometimes felt as if we were constantly barraged by our apps – emails spamming our inbox at all hours of the day and night and zoom meetings that never seemed to end. Instead of the old 9-5 it became 24/7 as we checked emails and responded at all hours of the day and night. In many ways there was some comfort in work, as the world around us seemed to lurch from one despairing chart to another.

As we developed new ways of working, many of us were not only dealing with our own concerns and fears around the pandemic, but also supporting our families, clients and participants through all the changes.

Adapting to safety and hygiene protocols, being alert around ‘hot spots’ and working out how to place a mask over our faces’, let alone making sure we had enough toilet paper after shelves in the supermarket emptied quicker than the amount of time it took Usain Bolt to run the Olympic 100 metres.

The mental agility required to navigate 2020 is off the chart!

As we have been unable to travel too far this year or have had to put overseas travel on the back-burner….and the year has been exhausting …we encourage you to take some leave for rest and recreation as we transition into a new year.

Here is a quick reminder (summarised from the Aug/Sept newsletter) of some of the benefits of taking some annual leave:

• Reduced stress
• Improves mood
• Boosts immunity
• Boosts health and reduces burnout
• Ensuring you take some time off is important and is likely to benefit your productivity in the long term.

• You have been navigating an immense amount of change and disruption to how you work. Adapting to any new environment saps mental energy
• You are relying on technology like never before, leaning on video conferencing to connect with colleagues and loved ones that can feel less fulfilling than in person contact
• You may have fell deep into work – as we are creating new solutions for new challenges and risks -working more than ever
• You may find that work is one of the few things that is in your control, during the pandemic and you have found putting energy into work is rewarding providing a sense of normalcy and showing your value to the Disability Trust. Which has certainly been noticed!

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS

Have you taken a moment to breathe, and think of your own health this year?

When was the last time you had a real break or a holiday?

As you are most likely aware, the majority of our workforce at TDT accrue in total 5-weeks of leave per year, including the ‘special leave’ entitlement. We are encouraging all workers to plan in advance, talk with your friends and family, and plan for to take some of your accrued leave. Please then liaise with your manager, who will need to consider other leave requests made for the same time period and determine the best time for you to take a well-earned break before approving your leave.

Our workforce has dealt with a range of challenges in 2020, and we recognise and thank all of our workers who have gone over and above and demonstrated commitment to their clients (customers) throughout this time.

And sometimes there are no words but one…
 Thank you!