Twenty-five years ago, the world prepared for New Year’s.
It was an auspicious moment: the start of not just a new calendar year, decade, or even century.
It was the beginning of a new millennium.
Hope fille the air. Would humanity suddenly turn a page, and — looking forward, with fresh eyes — come to a new understanding of our place on this planet, and in the cosmos?
But excitement was tinged with uncertainty. “Y2K” — the fear that when the clock struck midnight on January 1, computers programmed in the 1900s would interpret the year as “00” and malfunction, produce incorrect data, even shut down at nuclear facilities and financial institutions — also loomed heavily.
Employees worldwide worked feverishly to make sure their companies were “Y2K-compliant.” Some Christmas vacations were canceled.
Dependent Care Connections — a provider of workplace services aimed at increasing productivity and reducing absenteeism — was on the case.
Right here in Westport.
From their offices in the Nyala Farm complex (now the headquarters of Bridgewater Associates), they rolled out a program called Y2KARE. It offered counseling, education and referral support to help employees manage personal responsibilities, while helping prepare their workplaces for Y2K.
DCC worked to aid frenetic Y2K employees, from the Nyala Farm office complex in Westport.
Y2KARE included a team of counselors, a network of providers and local resources, discounts and specialized programs.
The goal was to provide extended hours of service; weekend, childcare and eldercare; vacation camps, and services like gift-wrapping, personal shopping, and meal deliveries, for employees toiling on Y2K issues.
DCC CEO Peter Burki said, “People are really on top of and aware of this issue. We’ve had clients sign up right and left. Companies are looking for mechanisms to support the employee at this time of critical need.”
What would happen after the New Year?
“I think we’ll have a very strong indication on January 1 in terms of the magnitude of the problem,” Burki said.
“It could be ‘the mouse that roared,’ or it could be something very impactful.”
Y2K was, of course, a nothingburger.
Computers did not crash. Nuclear facilities did not implode. The world continued to spin on its axis, oblivious of the date or anything we humans were doing.
Today, Y2K is a dim memory. The first quarter of this century is almost over.
On Wednesday, we begin the next quarter of the 2000s.
Now, uncertainty of a different kind fills the air.
What will January 1 — and the rest of 2025 — bring?
Happy New Year!
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