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The COVID-19 Pandemic: Self-organizing at the Edges of Chaos and Stability

In: Organizational Communication and Technology in the Time of Coronavirus

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  • Keri K. Stephens

    (The University of Texas at Austin)

Abstract

A cosmology event—a severe disruption where people no longer understand the universe to be rational—is the best way to describe the COVID-19 Pandemic. The struggles of being quarantined during a pandemic helped me create new structures to cope. Going outdoors became a highly treasured break, and since my office had no doors, I created a façade that helped me feel more privacy as I fashioned an acceptable background for my new way of meeting: Zoom. I turned my illusion of control into reality by focusing on research and teaching and beginning five new research studies. Yet I also overworked incessantly and dealt with family health issues that had me question whether I could be a good mother. I existed in a zone of emergent complexity; the space between the edge of chaos and the edge of stability, a sweet spot where innovation occurs. Living in this zone forced me to bounce back and forth between these edges of chaos and stability, sometimes slipping, even if briefly, into full chaos. I’m exhausted from this constant motion, but I also know I must keep moving forward.

Suggested Citation

  • Keri K. Stephens, 2022. "The COVID-19 Pandemic: Self-organizing at the Edges of Chaos and Stability," Springer Books, in: Larry D. Browning & Jan-Oddvar Sørnes & Peer Jacob Svenkerud (ed.), Organizational Communication and Technology in the Time of Coronavirus, chapter 0, pages 83-103, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-94814-6_5
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-94814-6_5
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