Remote work and watching the world go through a big shake-up is redefining what all of us, and even our lives, need and want from our jobs.
The fact that Covid-19 has cost millions of people their jobs and their livelihoods is no mystery. Many young people across countries and industries, despite the luxury of relative job stability, are opting to move firms, switch sectors, retrain or even set up their own businesses.
Covid-19 reversed the jobs we had. We tried to adapt, but what about in the long term? BBC Work life is asking a handful of experts to answer the biggest issues we should be asking in 2020 and beyond.
More than seven months have gone by since Covid-19 was widely revealed by the World Wellbeing Organization. There have been hundreds of millions of people going through lockdowns. Some have made the abrupt switch to work from home; millions have jobs that are misplaced. The long haul looks uncertain. We do not know when our social orders may return to typical, or in case, or what kind of scars will leave the widespread. In the midst of the transition, BBC Work life spoke to a handful of experts, pioneers and experts around the globe to ask: what are the most influential questions we face? How are we going to work, survive and prosper in a post-pandemic future? How is Covid-19 reshaping our universe forever, possibly?
People found out how to work from home easily. When the pandemic subsides, WFH will remain popular with professionals, pushing businesses to become more agile, even those who were not the biggest supporters of creating a virtual workforce. Now that more people have tasted it and demonstrated their productivity, it will be difficult for businesses to take it away from their abilities. A Gallup survey found that 54% of U.S. employees would leave their current job for one that allowed them to work remotely. And while professionals celebrated their 30-second commute, it became obvious to businesses that the big line item on their real estate spreadsheets might not be the best way to invest their cash. Even if it’s not everybody all the time, making people work from home is proving to be lucrative.
Before, People were going through big life events including a bereavement, break-up or an age-related landmark before the pandemic. Even more of us have been led by the jolt of the pandemic to ask fundamental questions about our life decisions and whether or not they fit with our core values.
