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When I first started preparing for COVID Stories, I went online, to LinkedIn, and started searching hashtags, looking for people who had been laid off due to COVID. This was back in June and July of 2020, and it wasn’t hard. Every time I searched terms like laid off, unemployed, or furloughed, I found that the site was full of people sharing their stories. Emotionally raw posts about being laid off had hundreds of reactions and empathetic comments.

I met most of the strangers I spoke with for this podcast on LinkedIn, or was introduced to them by someone I met on LinkedIn. The platform has experienced a surge in usage during the pandemic, with so many people looking for jobs, and so many others looking to make a positive impact.

Ross is one of the people I met through LinkedIn. In what I would come to learn was a true representation of his positive outlook on life, when he was laid off, for the first time in his life, Ross recorded a political campaign style video, announcing his availability for employment. When I saw it, I just had to talk to Ross, and after our conversation, I couldn’t wait to share his story of being laid off, of the approach he took to finding a new job, and how, for him, being employed meant much more than a paycheck, it meant a steady source of affordable health insurance.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, I hope you’ll take a moment, find a seat, and listen to Ross’s story.

You can learn more about Ross by reading the show notes on our website, www.covidstoriespodcast.com. Thanks for listening!

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COVID-19 has affected the way all of us work, and for many people the dominant experience of COVID-19 has been months spent working from home. Work from home wasn’t a widely available option before COVID, so for most this is their first long term experience working from home.

Working from home is hard, and it can have serious consequences for someone’s mental health. But working from home existed before COVID-19. For some it was a long dreamt of ideal work environment, but for others working from home was isolating, with limited opportunities for long term growth and career advancement. And that’s especially true if you’re someone who already faces systemic challenges pursuing those goals in the first place.

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