The Kindness Pandemic
By Amy Sims
Just over six weeks ago our lives were turned upside down with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some local businesses were forced to shut, kids were being kept home from school, we began to worry, and rightly so! This was something that the world had never experienced before and will hopefully never have to again. As we started to navigate self-isolation, social distancing, working from home and home schooling, we were quick to realise all the things we were missing pre COVID-19. Like everyone else over these weeks, the Lincolns team have been adapting. We have been putting a lot of effort into staying positive, capturing learnings, turning this into an opportunity to implement changes. We wanted to share with you how the Lincolns team has managed and what we’ve learned along the way.
Many of us quickly started missing our former lives … Catching up with friends, going out to restaurants and pubs, working out at the gym, sending our kids to school, even simple things like buying multiple staple items at the shop and so much more.
We’ve found that how well we are coping with restrictions on gatherings and social distancing can (but doesn’t always) depend on our personalities. Some of the extroverts amongst us are struggling, big time. These people tend to not cope all that well being distanced and separated from people as they thrive on their social networks and having people around them. On the flip side, some of our introverts have been much more accepting and are finding their lives haven’t changed too much because they tend to do less socialising anyway. They also love that it is now more socially acceptable to stay home. Perhaps most interestingly, we’ve seen that this stereotype of introverts and extroverts isn’t always true when it comes to working from home. Some of our extroverts have loved it, some of our introverts have not. Overall we’ve found this to be a journey of self-discovery, working out what is truly important in each of our lives.
Some of us have found extra time on our hands, as our lives became less busy. Weekends are not jammed packed with sport and rushing around, we now have the opportunity to connect in a more meaningful way in our families. We’ve been getting out in nature more, playing board games, baking, ticking off some home maintenance jobs we’ve been meaning to do for years. Conversely, for others with families outside of the Great Southern, the extra time is taking an emotional toll as they’ve not been able to see them for three months.
It’s unanimous … we are all very thankful that we live in Australia and in particular that we live in the Great Southern. We are thankful that we’ve not been affected by COVID-19 to the extent of the rest of the world. One clear message has been “we are all in this together” and as Australians we are very proud of how everyone has taken to this message. It is amazing to see how the community has pulled together. There is a mutual respect for each other’s safety with the hope to flatten the curve as fast as we can. Businesses are supporting each other and now more than ever we understand the importance of shopping local and buying Australian made. The government stimulus package has helped many businesses, but we’re also acutely aware that it is going to take a long time for our economy to recover.
As we start to come out the other side and restrictions are being eased many of the Lincolns team are now beginning to realise a new appreciation for things that we want to hold onto post COVID-19. So before we all get straight back in to our busy lives we wanted to take a moment to share what the Lincolns team now appreciates even more:
Living in regional WA – there is a reason we all chose to live away from the hustle and bustle
Frontline workers – really do deserve a medal
Sending our kids to school each day – let’s be honest, you can’t work from home and home school at the same time
Enjoying the simplicity of life - making time for each other, just being
Technology – whether it be work meetings, gym classes or a virtual Easter egg hunt, technology has been a life saver
Community – supporting local and buying Australian made
Lastly, we would like to thank our clients who have been very patient as we have navigated the government stimulus package been thrown at us over the past few months. It has been an intense time getting up to speed with changes (often happening daily) and we have done our best to ensure each and every client has been considered. Helping and supporting our clients during this time has been a major focus for us and we feel privileged that we have been, and continue to be, a shoulder to lean on for our clients.
Single Touch Payroll Check-in
For many businesses it is coming up to 12 months since starting single touch payroll; 2 years for bigger employers. We bet you're wondering what all the fuss was about this time last year?!
With STP you will no longer have to issue payment summaries to your employees. Instead you will need to “finalise” your payroll for the financial year.
As we know, the first few weeks of July is a hectic time of year. So to get you prepared, we have released a few short videos explaining what you can do now to make the end of year process a lot easier.
Each video is tailored to the specific software (MYOB, Wagemaster and Xero). Happy viewing!
We are here to help, so don't hesitate to give us a call if you need any assistance with your year end processes.
