It was almost two years of pandemic, with preventive measures and many restrictions for all of us. The question now is what returning to normality will be like, even with some restrictions still in place.
What Will Returning to “Normal Life” After the Pandemic Be Like?
Terms such as “remote work”, “lockdown” and “virus” have dominated the agenda over the past two years in our country and across much of the world. The pandemic forced everyone to confront a new reality in terms of life, work and mobility.
Remote work began to be adopted by a large percentage of companies, schools restructured their teaching strategies so that classes could take place online, road traffic decreased substantially and, among many other changes, people were forced to replace after-work gatherings on café terraces with remote conferences and phone calls.
At the beginning of August this year, remote work was no longer mandatory in high-risk municipalities and became merely recommended across the entire country. By the end of the month, the country moved from a state of calamity to a state of contingency, after reaching the target of more than 70% of the population vaccinated against Covid-19.
Given the progress of the vaccination programme, it is time to think about the future of society, the economy and companies, since interpersonal relationships changed over a long period of time, as did organisational structures and business needs. The pandemic undoubtedly put us all to the test, revealing a range of challenges, both personally and in business, for which we were not prepared.
We were pushed into cyberspace and forced to coexist there, through a harsh and abrupt social and organisational transition. And now? Throughout this period, we all acquired a set of habits that we came to regard as established rights. Will we be prepared to change them if necessary?
The newspaper El País published an article on some trends for the post-pandemic world, including:
- Reassessment of beliefs and values
- Reassessment of consumption habits
- Reconfiguration of retail spaces
- New business models for restaurants
- Immersive cultural experiences
- Remote work
- Distance learning
The pandemic helped us realise that human beings can adapt to a wide variety of contexts and environments, amid significant changes in the economy, politics, social relationships and culture. As a result of so many changes, there are several reflections we can make, such as recognising the reinforcement and strengthening of values like solidarity and empathy, regardless of generation, the breathing space we gave nature, and access to new forms of mobility.
Despite the easing of preventive measures against Covid-19, it is up to all of us to adopt responsible and civic-minded behaviour so that we can continue to breathe freely.
