From resilience to recovery – 25 quotes of the week from India’s COVID-19 struggle

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week. This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle (see last week’s post here). Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Doctors have maintained their mental and physical well-being during this time in the form of regular exercise like yoga, getting rest after a hard day’s work, have conversations with loved ones in order to relax etc. - Dr Sheela Chakravarthy, Fortis Hospitals

Being doctors, we do not have the option of working from home like other professionals. The best way for any doctor to deal with such stress is to follow all the safety protocols during the treatment of any patient. - Dr Raghu Nagaraj, Fortis Hospital

During the pandemic, there was not only physical burnout for doctors due to the workload but also mental distress being surrounded by suffering patients. The fear and grief of losing the battle of saving lives affect the mental well-being of doctors. - Dr Srinivasa Prasad B V, Fortis Hospital

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, certain shortcomings and failures of the local traditional mandi systems have come to light and there is an urgent need for this type of system to be redressed. - Sanjay Borkar, FarmERP

In the pre-pandemic era, artisans were heavily dependent on exhibitions, trade shows, etc., all of which have collapsed now. - Maneet Gohil, Lal10

The challenges brought on by the pandemic have been unprecedented. Everyone, irrespective of economic strata, has felt the brunt of it in some way or the other. - Neerja Birla, Mpower

The need for an effective use of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms is now more than ever with the on-going pandemic situation. - Justice (Retd) Kshitij R Vyas

The biggest self-appraisal question for leaders is ‘What am I doing to build a culture of trust and loyalty in the virtual world?’ - Prajeet Budhale, Fourth Quadrant

These stressful times of change have impelled the need for greater flexibility and work-life balance among professionals. But our survey reveals a wide gap between what employees need and what employers are offering to cope with stress. - Ashutosh Gupta, LinkedIn

Since the pandemic is not yet over, the remote working culture is here to stay for long. In such a scenario, it is vital for businesses to manage the workforce optimally. - Rajesh Murthy, Intellicus Technologies

In a disruptive situation like the pandemic, you might have to let go of pettiness and instead demonstrate trust yourself. Reassign responsibilities based on tasks and goals and be flexible about time. - ElsaMarie D’Silva, Safecity

[Coworking spaces] are gearing up to incorporate extra measures to ensure they are abiding by the COVID-19 guidelines. The use of cutting-edge technology such as automatic doors, hands-free check-ins, and smart lighting are revamping coworking spaces drastically. - Nakul Mathur, Avanta Business Centre

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India is witnessing a never-seen-before activity in hiring. Fuelled by the demand for IT professionals, it truly is heartening to see the industries recover at the onset of the festive season. - Pawan Goyal, Naukri.com

While companies with a well-established digital ecosystem have managed to tide over the crisis smoothly, the majority have been jolted out of their comfort zones and have realised the significance of digital solutions for survival and growth the hard way. - Harjit Singh, Tata Teleservice

India witnessed unprecedented digital transformation since the pandemic, which makes it a unique market with the potential to adopt DevOps across every industry. - Yadhu Gopalan, Esper

While cybersecurity and digital privacy were slowly gaining prominence earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the whole process. - Nitish A Desai, Skynet Softtech

With schools shut for a long period during the lockdown, the need for a virtual classroom setup sparked what some call a "Zoom boom", as video calling quickly replaced traditional classrooms. - Shailendra Dhakad, Codeyoung

The pandemic has changed the way enterprises are approaching their call centre operations. - Chandrasekar Kandasamy, Stakeboat Capital

During the lockdown, businesspersons, especially grocery shop owners and restaurateurs, wanted apps for online grocery and food delivery so that they could start selling products online. - Ketan Shrivastava, InMinz

COVID-19 has accelerated the shift to online shopping, and this shift persists across categories as consumers continue to keep their out-of-home engagement low to curb the spread of the virus. - Kapil Makhija, Unicommerce

Consumers today are changing and amidst the pandemic, they are not only looking for hygienic and better quality products but are also willing to pay a premium for better quality. - Lisa Suwal, Prasuma Momos

During the lockdowns and even afterwards, when people were staying primarily at home, everyone wanted to live in kaftans and leisure wear. - Ananya Jain, The Boozy Button

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Everyone is working from home, so the only real thing you spend on is your face, and that works for a company that makes shaving products. - Shantanu Deshpande, Bombay Shaving Company

People in metros and other cities are opting for staycations and are heading out on weekends to just break the monotony at home. - Sidharth Gupta, Treebo Hotels

The pandemic has disrupted the way consumers are interacting with brands and this reflects in the growth of digital D2C brands in the last 12-18 months. - Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Venture Catalysts

D2C brands have benefitted by minimising overhead costs and building a self-sustaining operational framework. They now have an opportunity to take control of the complete customer experience and build loyalty. - Sumit Suneja, Merlin Brands

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).