With the increase in hybrid work and remote work, there is no longer a clear separation between home and office life. As a result, employees are more likely to discuss current events with coworkers. While this is a good thing, if not managed properly, it can lead to tensions, especially when discussions are political in nature. Having clear and documented policies around the appropriate discussion of current events can help you avoid any negative impact on employee morale or workplace culture.
In the United States, the Big Events (COVID-19, economic crisis and widespread social unrest) were exacerbated by racialized policing of social distance measures and by policies that disrupted people’s ability to maintain housing access, work and financial resources. This contributed to greater hardship and increased harms related to drug use, sex work and mental health among many populations. In addition, these broad-scale changes created a state of intergenerational normative disjuncture that led to the generation of a new youth culture of drug and alcohol consumption, sex work and other risky behaviors in order to find pleasure or earn money. This resulted in huge epidemics of STIs, viral hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
Past research, primarily on HIV, has demonstrated that the public health effects of these kinds of Big Events are contingent. Some of these events lead to enormous epidemics, while others do not. This research has suggested that a number of key (“pathways”) variables shape whether or not a Big Event leads to epidemics. These variables include changes in institutional structures, individual experiences, world views, hopes and normative expectations.