COVID-19 to accelerate changes in the world of work

178
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Our world today is shattered by the unforeseen invasion of the corona-virus. Individual families have been affected. National economies have been affected. Businesses have been affected, and with that many lives of those who were employed have been affected.

It will do us no good to pretend our world will ever be the same. Many have already been laid off. Still many more have experienced salary cuts. You already know what that means. Don’t you?

It means our way of life must change. We must adjust to the fact that, nothing will ever be the same.

As highlighted by the monster.com in How companies are responding to COVID-19, with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the world is in the midst of what could turn out to be one the of the biggest pandemics of the century… And it’s hitting people hard where they spend a huge chunk of their time: at work.

With massive industry conferences canceling at the last minute, mandatory travel bans, quarantines, and work-from-home policies in force, companies are faced with balancing the health and safety of their employees with the need to keep the lights on.

“There are no rulebooks for this kind of stuff,” says John Bremen, managing director of human capital and benefits for advisory firm Willis Towers Watson. “This is really a new and evolving situation.”

This has led to lockdowns. They meant either work-from-home or no work for some. Many are worried about their future prospects. It is, therefore necessary to think of what the world of work will look like after coronavirus. For managers there are some suggestions on what could be the way forward.

There are so many unknowns. Everybody certainly hopes there’s a speedy resolution to our predicament. Many, I think, would like to get back to business as usual. The question is how long it will be until that happens?

Below is what I think is the working alternative, as opposed to panicking about what the future holds. According to Cecilia Meis in The side hustlers Handbook, ‘You’ve heard tales of the changing work and economic landscape- the rise of the freelancer.

This, I believe, should be explored like never before. COVID-19 has already threatened the security of traditional employment systems, so for many this maybe the only immediate way to figure out the future.

There has never been a time, if not today, to consider developing an exit strategies. Maybe a safer alternative going forward. Nothing will ever be the same.

Comments

Teboho Polanka
Teboho is a Social Worker, Writer and Inspirational Speaker. He is in pursuit of MSc. in Managerial Psychology. Graduates are able to apply psychological principles and methods to tackle challenges in the work environment and provide effective practical solutions. Acting as industrial-organizational psychologists.