We adopted a series of preventative measures to reduce the exposure of employees, clients, suppliers and business partners to the spread of the virus
“The implementation of the Decision on the State of Emergency was not easy. We had to implement all decisions and recommendations of the Serbian Government, Ministries and Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, which are mostly of a general nature for a legal entity dealing with medicine production, where standards are raised and where our product is critical to the health of the nation. I believe we have been successful in this” said Galenika Head of Legal sector, Aleksandra Mitić.
How have you organized your business activities?
I am one of the members of Galenika’s Team for managing prevention measures against Corona virus, which has adopted, from the outset and outbreak of epidemics, a series of preventative measures to reduce the exposure of employees, clients, suppliers and business partners to the spread of the virus. After declaring a state of emergency, all employees who could work outside Galenika’s premises were sent to work from home, and so most of my associates, lawyers, are on homework assignment.
In our company, we have a documentation associate, our colleague Goca, who, in these conditions, is our eyes and ears, because she delivers to us post-mail, relevant contracts and other documentation. At the same time she is our PR, because she is the only legal sector employee who is physically still in Galenika and she has contacts with other organizational units.
I keep in touch with all team members on a daily basis, and occasionally we have sector meetings through Microsoft Teams meeting-protocol. They are hardworking, and there is great solidarity between them, so they help each other with their tasks.
The implementation of the Decision on the State of Emergency was not easy. We had to implement all decisions and recommendations of the Serbian Government, Ministries and Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, which are mostly of a general nature for a legal entity dealing with medicine production, where standards are raised and where our product is critical to the health of the nation. I believe we have been successful in this.
How do you spend time during a pandemic?
As I returned from abroad in early March, I spent some time in isolation. Therefore, I can say that I got used to being at home, and almost never going out, except when needed. And I have to admit, sometimes it is easier for me not to move, than to prepare for 20 minutes for being out for 30 minutes and to spend twice as much time in disinfection and washing when I return. This is a time when I am much more with my kids than usual, which is mostly wonderful. However, it is also sometimes challenging to work from home, as kids are still small to take care of themselves. It is difficult for them to spend time primarily in the house, so we invent games at home – we make pictures a lot, play with plasticine, but we also make an Indian settlement with tents by throwing blankets over chairs, while the terrace is our construction site. When they get tired, they and their Mom watch cartoons a little. We love to applaud into at 20:00h, although they’re still not sure what exactly we’re doing, but they enjoy it immensely.
What will you do first after the state of emergency?
I think I’ll go to the hairdresser. A joke is circulating on Facebook saying that when all this goes through, it will be harder to schedule a hairdresser than magnetic resonance. I’m not someone who is obsessed with treatments, but it’s kind of synonymous with regular and everyday life. After that, there is one city I love and I always like to go back to. When I close my eyes I run into its narrow steep streets, I hear the neighbor chat in Italian, the church bells ring, the sun caresses my face, and the sea hits the cliffs as I hear the laughter of my children. Belgrade is my hometown and I love it immensely, while Rovinj is the city of my choice where only my family and I exist. When all this is over, I’ll cross the border, go to Rovinj, have a cappuccino and eat breakfast at the ”Batana” cafe while watching my boys run around the fountain.