Are you ready for the next normal?

We are heading into unprecedented changes in conducting business. We have seen an increase in a contact-free economy. For instance, online shopping was already doing well, but dealers have seen increased sales with shoppers opting to have goods delivered at home for fear of contracting Covid-19.

It is now conceivable that the chain of production will minimise human contact in future and still upscale production. Hospitals could also consider having both clinic visits and telemedicine options for their clients.

Are our workplaces, career options and ambitions resilient enough to still be productive in a contact-free economy? Necessity is the mother of invention; the Covid-19 era could bring in new changes in reconstructing the future of our work places. Many companies have switched to produce needed commodities in these times.

Even though the government through the Ministry of Health has directed employers to allow their employees to work remotely, or work in shifts, there is need for distributed workload going forward.

Schools remain closed even though there are options for learners to keep learning on television and online platforms. Our children no longer tie TV to the sole reason of entertainment, they see it as a learning tool too.  We have demands to home school our kids, accommodate our spouses as they work from home and still drive productivity at our places of work.

Those of us who live alone may face counterproductive realities such as burnout from loneliness and boredom. Once we get past the crisis, we will reopen our workplaces with confidence knowing that we have to adhere to new workplace health policies to protect ourselves and customers. But will we be in a rush to go back?

We live in a changing world

Robust technological and economic changes have revolutionised the world as history has it. And the latest powerful force that is changing our ways of contributing to our economy is biological in nature; the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have seen a fusion of all spheres of our lives. Our society, economy and personal lives that were previously thought as separate, are becoming more and more intertwined. In addition, we see that we are clearly one village. It is now clear that something emerging from a few people in a faraway part of the world can explode and affect people many miles away.

Therefore, how we relate with each other at work, how we operate, how we make money, how we communicate now matters more than ever. We are at a point where taking care of yourself is also taking care of others.

How we relate will be core

Many of us are facing acute slowdowns in our workplaces. We have to reaffirm our deepest beliefs and values when engaging stakeholders and clients. In this “reshaped” world, we have been offered an opportunity to transform.

After the crisis is over, colleagues, managers and stakeholders will know who took the right actions during the turbulent time, who put the welfare of others before money and who relinquished own interests for the benefit of the team.

In terms of how we relate with coworkers and bosses, our working relationships will be based more on trust, responsibility and values.

Dealing with coworkers struggling with anxiety

Some of us may know people who have recovered from Covid-19. Since the treatment of the disease requires isolation of patients from their loved ones, the period of treatment could increase the effects of stress.

As we accept them back into the workplace, we should remain supportive. Our workplaces now have policies guiding how recoveries should get back to work and of course prioritising their mental well-being and the physical health of all.

We should be more resilient and elastic

Are our skills resilient and elastic enough to survive past the crisis while still bringing in the money? We are therefore to reflect deeply and reevaluate about our skillset and become more proactive in transitioning our companies to the next normal.

Relevance is key. What we pass down to our mentees should be what they need to navigate through the crisis and remain productive during and after.