Coming together

We have a new president. Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was sworn in, and a new presidential era began. How will it go? At this point, no one can accurately say. As far as polling has shown, over 60 percent of Filipinos want our new president to succeed while some remain skeptical and are waiting to see if their initial fears were founded.

Honestly, it’s unknown territory. I don’t know that we’ve seen democracies in this position in the past. But I don’t think it’s idealistic to hold on to hope that things can improve in the months and years ahead. I think that’s how we should always approach new eras, especially when you have done everything you can. Hope for the best and work for the best. After all, “worrying means you suffer twice.”

So, we also shouldn’t tell people not to be hopeful. In fact, President Marcos’ inaugural speech centered mostly around hope. He didn’t talk about the past. Instead, he focused on the future and the promise of what it can hold. He said the country needs to focus on “build back better” during post-pandemic recovery.

To be fair, he didn’t keep rose-colored glasses on about the difficulties ahead. After all, inflation is high, prices keep increasing, and it will most likely get worse before it gets better. The most pressing concerns at the moment continue to be the rising costs of oil and energy. Plus, the possibility of supply chain problems impacting the global food supply, which could result in a global food crisis due to the war in Ukraine.

There aren’t any easy solutions to these problems, and it’s not something the new president will be able to fix overnight. Increases worldwide will make money costlier and impede economic recovery and expansion. Most people predict a global recession, which could heavily impact any growth potential in the near future.

The new president recognizes the challenges that lay ahead while still reassuring the nation that he is ready for the task at hand and committed to getting it done. At this point, it’s the best approach he can take as he carefully builds an administration with the right people to face the problems ahead.

President Marcos reiterated the most poignant point that we can make more progress if everyone works together. He is right about that. I had previously written that more progress can be made if we build on what worked before and continue to make improvements, instead of starting from scratch each time. It’s not always easy, but the result is what’s important.

Once all the votes have been counted, we can choose to move forward and focus on finding a way to work together. We all want the same thing in the end – to rebuild the nation after the global health crisis and to uplift as many Filipino lives as possible.

As the President mentioned – “We will go farther together than against each other. We’re here to repair a house divided and to make it whole and stand strong again.” There is a lot of division in the country – in the world even – and we should be open to the fact that we might all be able to rise farther if we help each other instead of working against one another. But this is always easier said than done.

So, what is the future going to hold for the country? The first day seems promising, and we need to see what happens in the days following. There are a lot of areas I hope our new President focuses on – energy, gas, education, agriculture, and infrastructure, just to name a few. It’s a lot for anyone, but it’s the road we have in front of us, and we have no choice but to walk it.

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I read once before, in a scientific study, that stress is the “silent killer” and has contributed to far more deaths and health issues than we can count. Sometimes a heart attack is not just a heart attack, or a stroke is not just caused by genetics. Being stressed heavily impacts our body and could lead to serious health issues for everyone.

I remembered this recently when I saw that the 2022 State of the Global Workplace Report with analytics from Gallup that showed that stress in the workplace is still incredibly high. While not as high as during 2020 at the height of the global pandemic when everyone was worried about the world’s uncertainty, they are still exceedingly high. This could lead to mass burnout or health issues among workers.

While many companies are taking steps towards to acknowledge mental health issues, and overwork and stress among employees – the constant pressure and drive to continue to work harder often seems deeply ingrained in most workers. You would think that the pandemic would highlight the importance of making health a priority. Still, good work/life health balance remains elusive.

After all, it’s almost impossible to say “don’t stress out” to workers who can barely make ends meet and have to contend with the daily challenges of commuting amidst rising gas prices. Stress begins almost the moment many open their eyes and lasts throughout the day.

Hopefully, more companies will take better measures to care for their employees’ physical and mental health. Workers are far more productive when they feel safe and cared for in their work environment.