The Most Important Investment is the One in People
Without human labour, the economy is only an abstraction, reminds the psychologist Plamen Dimitrov
© ECONOMIC.BG / pixabay
~ 3 мин.
The crisis which the pandemic has brought upon us is causing great damage not only to the economy, but also to the people, their psyche and behaviour. The social effects of the isolation are also multidimensional. A "pandemic" is yet to come, related to people's trauma and psycho-emotional status, but also to the adequacy of their behaviour, warns Plamen Dimitrov, a psychologist and organizational counselling consultant.
A study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions at the European Commission showed that Bulgarians continue to be
in the first place in terms of financial uncertainty - before the pandemic, during the isolation, and after. The feeling of financial danger has intensified and we are among the five countries in the EU with the strongest subjective feeling of unhappiness. Our capabilities of taking such blows are too low, people cannot show flexibility for their personal and family adaptation, but also for the preservation of their business, if they are entrepreneurs, Plamen Dimitrov commented.
The pandemic found us
unprepared
and most of the businesses in Bulgaria were not able to react properly. Increasingly, events require us to change ourselves, the organizations and relationships in them, as well as the organization of work itself. After such trials, people rethink their worldview, practices and ways of acting. In Bulgaria we can start thinking only about economic activity and investment, but at the same time it is good to assess the importance of health, the ability to work and the sense of dignity of each employee. People are the ones making business work, otherwise the economy is just an abstraction. We have seen now who is carrying out the crisis and for whom it has the greatest consequences. We realized that people are much more important than we previously thought.
Here is what else Plamen Dimitrov says about
the lessons
which we have learned in recent months: “The lessons are many and one of them is that we need to change our patterns of thinking, as so far we have lived with the neoliberal religion of consumer society. It happened so that a virus rearranged our priorities and we gave up a lot of things. We have become convinced that for our own safety, we need to produce the basic resources ourselves, so that we do not depend entirely on external supplies. We understand how important it is to invest in things that are not a source of quick returns, but are essential. The pursuit of profit must be combined with the care for organizational and social health, and being ready to face any difficulties. Now is the time to realize that investing in "human capital" is paramount, that business needs to be more social and humane. People contribute with their work, which is not always rewarded. Labour is the most important factor for capital.”
No doubt
resistance to change
is a huge force. Everyone wants the situation to just pass and go back to the good old days. But going back is simply not possible. We do not know exactly what lies ahead, but certainly people expect more serious engagement from both the state and employers. The time has come to carefully and selectively learn from experience and be innovative. Let's learn from everything that happens to us and change the way we act, because it will bring us long-term benefits.
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