Remember the good old days of 2019 when we didn’t have to add face mask and hand sanitiser to the list of things we need when leaving the house?
Covid-19
Since the COVID-19 pandemic took charge of the world at the start of 2020, so many things have changed in our daily lives - some of which we’ve now been doing for so long that they actually seem normal.
Though, we also understand that this is not a way to live long term and for the vast majority of the population, we’re eager to get back to how things were for the most part.
Of course, there are some good things that have come from this pandemic. We’ve realised from being in lockdown for months on end that it doesn’t take much to appreciate the simple things in life like spending time with our kids, and have also perhaps developed more of an appreciation for family members who we weren’t able to see for that time.
Another good thing that has come from the pandemic - at least for a lot of people is that we’ve learned to be grateful for the things we have. This was especially evident when mass panic-buying ensued at the start of lockdown. Remember the great toilet roll shortage of 2020?
In seriousness, though, many of us should never again take for granted just how blessed we truly are to live in a place where we have an absolute abundance of everything we need.
However, as much as these good things are true, the pandemic has been absolutely devastating, not just in how it has impacted people’s health and the tragic deaths it’s caused and continues to cause, but it has financially crippled many industries and small businesses who will never recover from this and is now leading us toward one of the biggest global recessions ever seen.
This, in turn with all the different restrictions being imposed on us socially and changing how we’re allowed to interact with each other has left a lot of fear, anxiety and unsettling feelings.
In business, these restrictions are also having an impact and many of them may be here to stay after the pandemic. Though we won’t know for certain just yet how this is going to look, there are going to be certain things we once considered normal and done without thinking that after COVID-19 may actually take some getting used to again.
Below are some of the things that may change after COVID-19 in terms of how we do business:
Live Events:
2020 has been a year of things getting cancelled, from holidays, weekends away and even school trips, the travel industry has been one of the hardest hit from this pandemic with some industry experts predicting that we might not see travel fully back to pre-COVID levels until at least 2023.
Going forward after the pandemic, we all remain hopeful that things like live events and business conferences will return to normal, but this might actually take some adjusting as there could still be some residual fear from people who now think twice about being in a room with hundreds of other people or being concerned every time someone coughs or wants to shake their hand.
For a lot of people, staying home and attending virtual events may feel less scary and like overall less hassle, so this could have a knock-on effect on how we do business after the pandemic.
Hiring Contractors:
Before the pandemic started, nobody would have thought twice about hiring a contractor to come to their home if needed to carry out renovations or repairs such as plumbing or electrical work, but now with so much uncertainty people are more cautious about who they interact with and in some places, it’s even against the local rules to have people from outside your own household be in your home for anything other than emergency or essential services.
Although this will likely be one of the areas less likely to be hit hard and to see too many changes after the pandemic, there will still be things that will probably change, though they won’t all be bad.
For example, more contractors will possibly move to digital and paperless solutions like mechanical estimating software to send quotes which reduces the need for in-person conversations and also takes away paper which is overall better for the planet.
Business Travel:
Business travel has long been a valued part of the travel industry, and although travel, in general, has taken a huge hit during this pandemic and will take a long time to recover, people are now becoming more conscious of how much travel they do that’s probably unnecessary, and this will definitely include travelling for business purposes.
Of course, some business travel will still happen, but it’s likely that we’re going to see a massive reduction in it. Whilst this isn’t great news for the travel industry and those who rely on business travellers for their revenue, the impact on the planet and in reducing carbon footprint is only ever going to be a positive one.
Not only that, companies will also start to see the amount of time and money that can be saved simply by using video conferencing software to have meetings online.
Face to Face Meetings:
Since the start of the pandemic, one of the biggest changes for people that a lot of them hadn’t dealt with before was working from home for the first time.
In-person meetings were no longer allowed to happen and sign-ups to platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams went through the roof as more people were forced to hold meetings online via video conference.
Although there’s still a lot of appeal to having in-person meetings, especially if it’s just meeting clients for dinner or a cup of coffee, these will likely not be as common after the pandemic as they were before and companies will be weighing up the cost and risk involved before deciding on whether it’s really necessary to meet in-person or if a video call will suffice.
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