What is it like to live in a post-COVID world? While the pandemic certainly sent aftershocks into all areas of life for people around the globe, we focus on three key segments that are still feeling the aftereffects.
The Future of Work
When the pandemic swept across countries in early 2020, labour markets were disrupted, with the short-term consequences being sudden and severe; millions of people were furloughed or lost their jobs, while others had to adjust to working from home as lockdowns began. For frontliners, such as hospital staff, the police, and others were deemed essential, but had to contend with new protocols that were put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Today, the pandemic has left its mark on the future of work through three broad trends:
1. Remote working and virtual meetings are here to stay
Although many people are back at the office, remote working and virtual meetings have become a way of life for others. Back in 2020, analyst firm McKinsey assessed its potential across over 2,000 tasks used in some 800 occupations in eight focus countries and found that 20 – 25% of workforces in advanced economies could work from home between three and five days a week. This represented four to five times more remote work than before the pandemic and could prompt a large change in the geography of work as well.
2. A shift to flexible workspaces
Companies globally are now touting the value of flexible workspaces after positive experiences with remote working during the pandemic. Flexible spaces (i.e., co-working spaces) reduces the amount of space a company needs to rent, and in August 2020, McKinsey reported that on average organisations plan to reduce office space by 30%.
3. Digitalisation of consumer services
Even before the pandemic e-commerce platforms were gaining a fair share of the market, but when COVID-19 hit, the adoption rate for these platforms skyrocketed, growing at two to five times the rate before the virus outbreak. Additionally, ¾ of people that were using digital channels for the first time have responded that they will continue to use them when things return to normal. How does this impact the future of work? It has resulted in a growing demand for delivery, transportation, and warehouse jobs. In China for example, e-commerce, delivery, and social media jobs grew by more than 5.1 million in H1 2020.
Mental Health
Contracting COVID-19 became a global fear in 2020 and 2021; not only did the virus’ clinical outcome range from mild respiratory failure to severe disease with a high risk of fatality, it also could potentially affect someone in the long run; in fact, recent studies have shown that at least one in four COVID-19 recoverees suffer from “long-COVID” which includes impairments such as fatigue and taste/smell disorders.
On the other hand, the pandemic’s aftershocks also brought an existing plight to the spotlight – mental health. These problems as well as physical disabilities have been observed in people post their recovery from COVID-19. The types of mental health issues observed included PTSD, depression or anxiety. In addition to the actual virus, COVID-19 control measures such as lockdowns, also had a lasting effect on the mental health of citizens, increasing their risk of mental disorders such as depression.
Glossary of disorders: FCV (Fear of COVID), PHQ-9 (Depression), GAD-7 (Generalised Anxiety Disorder), IES-R (subjective distress caused by traumatic events)
A study by BMC Psychiatry found that the incidence of COVID-19 related anxiety, depression, general anxiety, and PTSD were significantly high in the group that had developed COVID-19 with post-COVID conditions, as highlighted in the chart above.
Education
As the pandemic reached its peak, the World Bank found that 45 countries in Europe and Central Asia closed their schools, thus affecting 185 million students. Students, administrators, and teachers were all unprepared for the transition to learning from home, and many of them had to build remote learning systems almost overnight.
Though remote learning quickly became the new normal, one of the biggest disadvantages of it was the lack of personal interaction between students and teachers; and evidence has emerged to show that children have experienced actual learning loss.
As illustrated in this chart by McKinsey, US school students finished the 2020-21 school year five months behind on math and four months behind in reading.
Beyond the classroom, these learning losses could translate to long-term challenges for children, including difficulty accessing higher education, lower labour market participation due to difficulty finding employment, and consequently, lower earnings.
The Effects of the Pandemic Linger On
These are but three of the areas of our lives that continue to be impacted by the pandemic. While positive effects may include a race towards digitalisation, rapid adoption of technological advancements in life sciences, and a more concentrated focus on sustainability and the planet, there are also areas of our lives that have been affected in a much more
These are but three of the areas in our lives that continue to be impacted by the pandemic. Although there have been positive developments, including a race towards digitalisation, rapid adoption of technological advancements in life sciences, and a more concentrated focus on sustainability and protecting the planet, other consequences of the events in the past two years are a bit more complex to handle.
Sources:
1. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-after-covid-19
2. https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-022-03874-7
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