The Effects of Collective Displacement
Riverway Business Services is excited to launch our second content series this year. We are taking a dive into FJORD’s 2021 top business topics and trends. A new topic will be shared bimonthly to ignite collaborative conversations regarding our collective experience in the ever-changing world. As we dive into our first topic, we have incorporated some questions to tie this topic to your own experiences. Sharing your experiences with us through each theme will help create a richer, deeper content series.
The first trend we would like to cover is Collective Displacement. How we experience life now has new engagement rules resulting from the pandemic, which can create disconnection. Displacement is not referred to as loss but simply as a change in behavior. We will be elaborating on the main types of displacement.
Location displacement is discussed first since it is the most tangible. The forced virtual workspace created location displacement away from the public office space to a more private, intimate home setting. This allowed many workers the ability to relocate, as travel to the office was no longer required. Location displacement also created home gyms and home schools that have possibly added extra stress to already busy lives. Have you shifted your entire life to your home, or have you found a home-away-from-home during this past year? What have been the pros and cons?
Secondly, Activity Displacement focuses on how we are doing things differently. For example, doctor’s appointments, happy hours, meetings, concerts, weddings are all taken place virtually rather than in person. Thirdly, Community Displacement refers to the shift we’ve made in whom we get to do things we like with, be it solo, or our household, truly creating a social “bubble.” How have your hobbies and downtime changed within the past year?
The most important area we want to cover is how collective displacement has affected our mental wellbeing. Uncertainty and rules constantly changing by our government and employers have changed us as leaders, employees, and customers. When and if the office migrates back into a public setting, how can we ensure our own and team’s mental wellbeing are being protected while navigating new waters? The once close environment might create a place of extreme stress for some people.
Understanding, listening, and being there for one another will create a foundation built on trust and respect. This creates inclusion when navigating the new normal. The good news is the discomfort of collective displacement is fought together rather than alone.
You can read more about how collective displacement has affected us as buyers and corporations' new challenges on understanding our recent buying trends and how to get in front of us through this link.
Check out Mark Curtis's summary from Accenture on this topic.