The life-threatening COVID-19 pandemic has fermented a byproduct among the mass people; a sense of constant fear of losing a livelihood. Surpassing the fear of losing own life and the fear of losing kith and kin, the fear of being left with no source of earning has now turned out to be predominant.
The fear of course is very real and countless people are facing it! The harsh blow of reality has flipped our life upside down. The catastrophic downfall in the world economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic has ousted millions of people from work. Many have had to face abrupt termination; many have been forced to take unpaid leave for an unknown period. Consequently, the scenario has turned critical and financial hurdles have left no stones unturned to make the lives of people miserable.
Revealing the traumatic scenario of the mass people during the present pandemic, in his book ‘The Importance of Work in an Age of Uncertainty: The Eroding Work Experience in America,’ David L. Blustein, Professor of Counselling Psychology at Boston College, US says, “This is going to be a global pandemic of unemployment… I call it a crisis within a crisis.”
Nevertheless, the psychological challenge i.e. the fear of the unforeseen future has overshadowed the financial challenge. Not only the people who have been facing financial difficulty but also the people who are somewhat earning their bread, this is a trial to surpass. The fear of losing has become a trauma for most of the people now. Staying psychologically balanced is a trial now.
Conveniently for us though, we, the human beings are designed to break the chains of fear and reshape the world. Let us hope that we can channelize this challenge into a win as well!
Ismat Zarin is an Assistant Professor at University of Asia Pacific and WhatsOn columnist.
