“To hell with age, we will force-feed you with computer jargon and throw you into the binary space of digital marketing and social media.”
These weren’t the exact words directed to me by my boss but you get the drift.
Ideally, they could have hired someone younger, more adept in online work and comfortable living in cyberspace. But senior management of the agency also wanted someone with my work experience, communication skill, emotional maturity, mental toughness and something that’s difficult for them to pin down or describe —- the image I project which is a close proximity to what they want for the office.
So, in October 2020, when the pandemic was at its height, I got a phone call that changed the entire trajectory of my career.
“Ji, shut up, sit down and listen to me”, one of my office superiors said. “You will be hosting a webinar series on digital marketing and attending a technical run tomorrow. Don’t ask me what digital marketing is since we’re still trying to figure this one out. Why you ? ‘Cuz we couldn’t find anyone in this office appropriate for the job. By the way, you will have to learn how to use social media platforms to promote our activities. We’ll get someone to teach you and the rest of the staff next year.”
Being the adventurous me, I happily complied, dived right through the internet wormhole, rode the cyber train to online heaven and savored every quantum byte.
Of course, I had countless mishaps and got more than a few reprimands from the boss but I always had this weird feeling that I was headed in the right direction.
I don’t mean to offend anyone, but COVID19 was the game changer I needed. It changed when, where and how I work, relax, think, write, read, socialize, play, eat.
It’s not just me.
Digitization has been rapidly overhauling traditional workplaces and upending ideas about doing business. I see this in my office and in other agencies.
Moreover, the sudden turn in circumstance triggered long held insecurities in people and forced many to change their perspective on work and life.
COVID19 stirred existential anxieties about the future of work and the potential for major job dislocations by automation and use of global digital platforms.
To cope, offices, including that for which I work, have become more agile so as to embrace emerging new forms of manpower flexibility. There is now an emerging need for us to have the skills and adaptability that would help make a more flexible job environment an opportunity to shape our careers in satisfying ways—perhaps with better work–life balance.
I already see my virtual office as more real now and buzzing with activities as compared to my old physical office. As you can see in the photos, my old hub is almost deserted.
Last week, while preparing to sit as emcee of the Ctrl+Biz Reboot Now webinar series, I noticed that the DTI eCommerce agency’s production staff members have become younger and more eclectic. It also seems that, with the technology we have now, having big eCommerce players as speakers is already the norm.
Never in my wildest dreams did I saw myself assuming the role of emcee in a major webinar series and moderating a discussion with speakers from Lazada, Shopee, Foodpanda, GCash, Paymaya, Robinsons Bank, Union Bank, Google, QuadX, FedEx, Lalamove. I also didn’t anticipate juggling the use of a laptop and a mobile phone for the webinar to communicate with the production staff in Luzon, participants from Central Visayas and speakers from all over the country. That’s a big achievement for someone who started out as computer semi- illiterate a few months ago.
Needless to say, I’m enjoying the person I have become — placid, buoyant, flexible. I realized that change is only painful if you refuse to accept it.
I am well aware of the many dismal happenings due to this health crisis. But a majority of us are doing the best we can to survive and help others in whatever way we know. These should assure many anxiety ridden souls that not everything is doom and gloom.
Also, have you noticed nature thriving with less pollution in the air and on the streets? Have you observed that more people are focusing their attention more to what really matters in life such as family, friends, relationships, community ? More of us now consider mental, emotional and physical health a top priority in place of material extravagance. There are now more stories of kindness from strangers, good deeds from fellow humans and pleasant memories of nirvana with more people going into yoga and meditation.
These spurts of virtuousness mirror the kind of changes we have long wanted in a utopian society, a perfect place where good always wins. We aren’t there yet but I believe we are taking baby steps toward that direction. This isn’t mere hopefulness. There is deep down in each of us a seed of pure intentions waiting for the right moment to blossom.
And as the new livingspace and workplace take shape in the years to come, we will need to prepare our minds and hearts for greater agility; accept that everyone is part of the team in combating this deadly virus and learn to identify the early signals of more changes to come.
As I immerse myself in the upbeat vibe of the Yuletide season, I boldly declare a better future ahead for all of us.
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