While it's hard to remember a time before the pandemic, Amtraco President Armen Sarajian said 2021 was easier to manage than 2020—at least until the last two months when the omicron variant was in full swing. It forced Amtraco to return to some of its earlier pandemic protocols, such as weekly updates about safety procedures.
What seems to be lingering are not just the actual medical aspects of COVID-19, but also the fatigue of living through a pandemic, he said.
In Wisconsin, the number of COVID-19 cases soared in November and December, reaching nearly 8,000 new cases Dec. 29. It marked the largest spike in daily cases the state had seen since at least March 2020, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
That COVID-19 surge was particularly disheartening, Sarajian said, because there had been optimism that the pandemic was nearing an end.
When discussing motivating his team to stay positive, Sarajian said one of the core values at Amtraco is built around the fact that you cannot necessarily motivate people, but you can de-motivate them. The company believes that you should put a focus on the customer, and the firm's customers are its first customers, Sarajian added.