​With so many people working from home in 2020, the grey area between professional and personal lives and activities has been blurred like never before. As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift for Victoria and further adjustments occur nationally, businesses and organisations need to prepare to bring employees back to the workplace. For example, in Victoria, effective 23 November  there is a phased return to the office and employers can now have 25% of their workers back to offices (or 10 people for businesses with less than 40 staff, if space allows for 4 sqm per person) with numbers increasing over the coming weeks and months. .  Each business will have its own unique challenges to face from physical distancing workstations in an office, purchasing of items such as sneezeguards, to adapting procedures to ensure the business is working in line with their COVIDSafe plan. Business leaders will also need to be cognisant of the potential psychological impact that lockdowns have had with heightened numbers of employees feeling anxious about their return.  

​Did you know it only takes a few seconds to form a first impression of someone and you really only get one shot at it?  In many cases people will likely form an impression of you before you‘ve even had a chance to say hello and if that impression is “not favourable”, it can take hard work to overturn.  Whether you are in front of your colleagues, your peers at a networking event, your direct reports or with a client, presentation matters, and it directly impacts your ability to be taken seriously. It’s pretty powerful stuff so how do you make a positive and professional impression?  

​​The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly hit a lot of businesses hard. Back in February and March many businesses were either considering, or actioning, redundancies, to ensure they remained viable as the spectre of lockdowns and restrictions became a reality. With the introduction of the JobKeeper wage subsidy, a lifeline was thrown out and businesses had options to continue keeping people employed.  Now that a significant amount of businesses are no longer receiving JobKeeper, the decision to make some roles in the business redundant to try and claw back some of the lost earnings over the past six months is a key strategy many are considering or are already implementing.