There is no doubt that COVID-19 is impacting the lives and livelihoods of professionals in and outside of the Market Research industry. As kitchen tables become work desks, spare bedrooms become triage units, and parents divide their time between a full work schedule and ad hoc homeschooling, women are especially being asked to multitask, care take, and carry the load of their community. At WIRe, we’ve always believed in the untapped power of women in business but we too believe in the importance of holistic self-care to take women to the very top.
In this vein, we’ve compiled a resource list with the unique needs of women—professionally, energetically, and emotionally—in mind. If you have any additional resources you’d like to add please shoot us an email—let’s continue to build the structures of support and encouragement that have gotten us this far together, even when distance might keep us (temporarily!) apart.
How to Stay Connected:
- Challenge friends and family to start a book club and host discussions over Slack or Google Hangouts. Find a free book online at Project Gutenberg or Zlibrary.
- Netflix Party — watch Netflix with your friends or a stranger, for free, online!
- Start a thread on WIRe’s Facebook or Linkedin Group and stay connected with our global community.
- Start a Slack channel with co-workers or friends and make it a point to “check in” daily.
- Host a “digital dinner party” with friends and loved ones. Pick a time, set up some candlesticks and your laptop, and get ready to laugh.
- Go through your (digital or analog) photo albums and text your favorite forgotten snapshots to those folks you’ve been meaning to catch up with.
- Task your friends and family to design a virtual “Quarantine Quarterly newsletter.” Pick a few categories (recipes, updates, book reviews, etc.) and give each of your family members an article to pen. Exchange newsletters via email with participating friends and family.
How to Cope:
- Join a free, online support group (link via The Relational Center)
- Give meditation a try. Apps and sites offering free mindfulness guides:
- Headspace
- Calm
- Mindful.org
- Dharma Punx NYC (donation-based meditation via Zoom)
- Need someone to talk to? Try a text therapy app like Talkspace or, if you’re in the US and facing a mental health crisis, text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor at any time, from anywhere, for free.
- Dance like no one is watching! Check out Radioooooo— it’s a free radio station with music from all over the world and from every decade. Need some inspiration? Check out Dancing Alone Together, a resource for finding virtual dance classes/opportunities during isolation.
- Check out this incredible resource site for those experiencing COVID-related anxiety.
- If you can get outside without compromising the health and safety of yourself and others, do it at least once a day. If not, bring the outside in: open your windows, take a bath, start a steampot on your stove—here’s a guide using herbs and spices you might already have in your cupboard.
- Gratitude journaling is an easy way to take advantage of the many benefits of keeping a consistant gratitude practice. Here’s how to get started.
- Athletic brand Outdoor Voices is running a “virtual recess” from their Instagram account—a once-a-day workout to keep your body moving and your spirits high.
- In the immortal words of Mister Rodgers, “Look for the helpers.” In times of crisis, there are always people stepping up to lend an extra hand. Their stories can serve as inspiration and help us overcome feelings of isolation. Here’s some of their stories.
- Make a DIY face mask for yourself or others.
- Check out this list of 19 Ways to Support Your Mental Health during COVID-19 (from Psychology Today)
How to Stay Informed:
- Our friends at Research for Good have compiled their own resource guide with COVID-19 trackers, data, best practices, impacts especially relevant to the MR community, and more. Download here.
- GreenBook has put together a resource guide tracking the implications of COVID-19 on the MR industry. They’ve also shared a number of links in regard to CARES and FFCRA to help companies navigate the best course of action to protect their business and workers at this time:
- The centerpiece of the CARES Act for small and medium-sized businesses is the Paycheck Protection Program. The initiative provides 100% federally guaranteed loans to small businesses who maintain their payroll during this emergency. These loans may be forgiven if borrowers maintain their payrolls during the crisis or restore their payrolls afterward. The Treasury Department issued a brief, succinct overview of the Small Business Paycheck Protection Program. This is a good place to start if you are just beginning to learn about the program.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put together a great, simple guide and checklist for employers to assess the resources available through the CARES Act.
- GreenBook’s HR agency, Insperity, hosted an informative and practical webinar with a number of experts called CARES Act of 2020 – Opportunities for Small Businesses. They also compiled their own summary in the CARES Act Overview Guide.
- Perhaps most importantly, the Paycheck Protection Program application is now available: Click here to download the application form.
- To understand the application process in more detail, another useful document from the Treasury Department is the Paycheck Protection Program Information Sheet for Borrowers.
- Lenders should start processing loan applications on April 3rd and the Small Business Administration is expected to provide additional details soon. One of the many places you can check for the latest information is the Chase for Business COVID-19 Program page.
- The FFCRA Act temporarily expands the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on an emergency basis, provides federally mandated paid sick leave, expands unemployment insurance benefits, and provides tax credits for certain costs related to implementation of this law. The benefits for this act are now effective April 1, 2020. To get a thorough, practical understanding of the Act, you can watch The Families First Coronavirus Response Act webinar. It’s relatively brief and it will be time well spent.
- Same as with the CARES Act, Insperity put together their own summary document, FFCRA Act Overview Guide. They also published a FFCRA poster to share with your employees.
- Check out ESOMAR’s round-up of COVID-19 Research.
- Dynata has released a special edition of their Global Trends Report covering COVID-19, exploring the changes in consumer attitudes and behaviors.
How to Lend a Hand:
- Join the Mon Ami Volunteer phone bank and become a certified volunteer on their crisis support text and phone line.
- Reach out local food banks, meals on wheels, etc. Many of them are facing volunteer shortages. They will help you find the safest way to support those most in need of aid in your community.
- If you’re able to foster animals in your home, connect with local shelters and rescues. Many are unable to fully staff their spaces and are asking individuals to foster pets as a way to lighten their load. Bonus: you get a (temporary) quarantine buddy!
COVID-19 Charities and Causes:
- MRBA – Providing financial support to UK-based MR-workers who’s livelihood will be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
- Coronavirus Care Fund – Supporting domestic workers and their families (largely women) who are navigating COVID health complications without insurance or employment support.
- Feeding America: serving communities and individuals facing hunger/food insecurity as a result of COVID
- COVID-19 Mutual Aid Find for LGBTQI + BIPOC Folks – Directly supporting members of the LGBTQI + BIPOC community through mutual aid.
- Start a thread on social and echo which of your favorite local restaurants, cafes, and farmers that are offering delivery or curbside pickup. Service workers are some of the hardest hit by the economic impacts of COVID and your support now will absolutely make a lasting difference in their success.
How to Keep Learning:
- Duolingo— learn a new language on your phone!
- Watch free webinars on the WIRe webinar page.
- Get free career advice from our Office Hours mentor panel.
- Learn to code via General Assembly.
- Get really, really good at hosting remote meetings and presentations. Check out this free webinar on the subject, shared by community member Jessica Steinbomer!
- Baking (good) bread requires, at minimum, three ingredients, time, and the willingness to experiment. Here’s a recipe for sourdough starter and some inspiration to carry you through.
- Curious about art history? What are the cultural implications of the show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians?” Here’s some online learning platforms offering free courses on a myriad of subjects…for just about any thing you could think of:
- Coursera.org — free and paid skill building programs hosted online. We suggest starting with Yale’s “The Science of Well-Being.“
- Kadenze — design, theory and art-focused courses with both free and paid options available. Check out this free option: “Charting the Avant Garde.”
- Khan Academy — not just for kids! Brush up on the foundations or check out specialized business courses for entreprenuers and professionals.
- edX — 2500+ free, online courses from top institutions like Harvard, MIT, and more. Here’s a free course on the philosophy behind managerial ethics intended to help leaders foster human-centric workspaces and teams.
- Immerse yourself in the world of theatre! The National Theatre will be streaming a selection shows for free via their YouTube channel.
- Read this article from the legendary Alice Waters on “Garden Therapy” and get inspired to dig up your own back yard.
- Adobe Creative is giving every one 2 free months of Creative Cloud — brush up on your design skills with free tutorials on YouTube!
How to Keep Kids Engaged:
Helpful Guides and Articles:
Online Activities:
Offline Activities:
