Coronavirus is a scary word that evokes many unpleasant memories. During the pandemic, the entire world experienced incredible changes and transformations. Things we couldn’t even think of before, say watching endless series or having the desire to look these online blackjack games online, are now part of our daily lives. The world has changed, people are unique, circumstances are different. But in any situation, there are always minuses and pluses. Let’s look at the most striking and significant changes that have occurred with COVID-19.
1. Working Remotely
The pandemic has forced companies around the globe to close their offices, sometimes on the same day. Similar retreats occurred all over the world. For a while, it seemed like a break from the constant problems.
Traffic congestion disappeared in big cities, companies reported having saved countless millions in utility and operating costs, and viewed their expensive offices as unnecessary because their businesses were doing just fine without them. For many thousands of people, working from home meant higher employment. Indeed, there is now a distinct chasm on the streets between those who can do their jobs remotely and the low-wage transportation, medical, or sales workers who have no choice.
Despite such excruciating mishaps, most remote workers say that when the pandemic finally ends, they will want to choose where to work, with many preferring the flexible combination of office and home. There has been an increase in the popularity of doing business online.
2. Wrong Sense of Time
That time has played a cruel joke on us during a pandemic that will surprise no one! Who during quarantine forgot what day it was, or who referred to Groundhog Day in describing everyday life? Many have felt like characters in time loop movies, lamenting that each new day is indistinguishable from the day before. And there’s a reason for that.
When COVID-19 dramatically flipped our lives, it almost completely separated us from the routines and events that normally anchor our lives in time – work, school, dates, social events, workouts, ceremonies, travel, the things we plan and look forward to. Life becomes a blur without these “anchors.”
For people who may have worked from home during the pandemic, this disorienting effect is exacerbated by the destruction of boundaries between work and home and the now more fluid workday: when the day begins and ends. Will you ever be able to leave the virtual pandemic office?
3. The Transformation of Athletic Training
Networks of fitness centers and sports studios have been shut down in cities. In some places, even outdoor exercise has been restricted. Like almost every other aspect of life in the pandemic era, exercise, too, suddenly became a household activity, and amateur athletes sought to turn the basement, garage, or corner of the apartment into a personal workout space.
Meanwhile, the pandemonium was a huge boon to home exercise equipment manufacturers. But for every piece of high-end exercise equipment sold to meet the exercise needs of the pandemic era, there was a low-tech alternative: live yoga classes with your favorite instructor at the Zoom, squats with a heavy backpack, running in the backyard.
4. All Professions Are Important
It turns out that it is the rank-and-file staff, not the medical staff, who may face the greatest risk of death during a pandemic. Line cooks, warehouse workers, bus drivers, maintenance workers, store clerks, and anyone else who does their job that makes other jobs possible.
What would gratitude look like for these people? Gratitude means taking a sober look at the true obstacles that essential workers often face: conversations about wages, immigration reform, child care, affordable credit, unemployment insurance, police and bail reform, even union protections. It’s time to make sure that core workers stay in sight. After all, can you imagine a single day without all of them? What about a week or month?
5. The Challenge of Scarcity
After the initial chaos, when people realized the grocery stores would not run out of the essentials, they focused on how to pass the time. Once summer arrived in June, outdoor furniture became scarce.
The next month, shoppers faced another problem: Coins were scarce, and many stores required exact change or electronic payments. But consumers didn’t stop there!
In August, many stores were short of charcoal as people often grilled or roasted food over a campfire.
In November, restaurants and homeowners bought up every patio heater they could find. And a month later, skis and snowshoes flew off the shelves as the outdoor sports fashion continued.
6. The Problem of Working Parents
For decades, the problems for working parents have been simple: How do I find affordable child care? How do I transport my children to and from school? What’s a good balance between my time at work and my home life? But a year after the coronavirus pandemic, nothing about working parenting is so clear-cut anymore.
Parents face questions about whether daycare is a health risk and how to combine working from home while the kids are in an online school. For people who still have to commute to work, the situation is even more complicated. Some companies have relaxed their policies to make it easier for working parents, or now offer additional benefits.
7. Changing Appetites
When the virus swept the globe last spring, one of the most notable trends manifested itself in the way much of the world reacted to food consumption. People who had previously relied on takeout and restaurants reportedly began to cook at home and consume affordable, quality foods.
Some of this change in habits was due to fears of food shortages and hoarding due to COVID-19. A year later, these fears have largely dissipated: in most places, logistical delays in transporting food have been short-lived. But the food culture, regardless, has clearly changed, and probably for the long haul.
8. Shedding Light on Inequality
The coronavirus pandemic had a devastating impact on people’s lives and economies. But this impact has been uneven and unfair. Women, minorities, and the poor were disproportionately affected because the pandemic revealed and exacerbated pre-existing gaps in health, economic security, and well-being.
In addition, racial and gender disparities in job loss were noticed, as more women and people of color worked in service industries that were hit harder by the pandemic. More women were also forced to stay home and give up work to take care of children whose schools were closed.
9. Distance Learning
The move to distance learning has been a disaster for traditional schooling, for the most vulnerable students, and the careers and mental health of parents. But there is also evidence that staying home has benefited many children, raising questions about how we educate and care for them in normal times.
Both before and after the pandemic, various studies have shown that distance learning simply cannot replace the classroom. The lack of face-to-face interaction, social engagement, and a learning environment appears to worsen retention, as young children are the least able to adapt.
10. Renewing the “Friendship” With Nature
As sad as it is, it sometimes takes surviving the dire consequences of a pandemic to appreciate your backyard. In 2020, when the coronavirus wiped out international travel and introduced terms like “quarantine” and “social distancing,” millions of citizens began spending more time outdoors.
People flocked to parks and public places. As movie theaters, restaurants, bars, and stores closed, parks became the only safe place to escape the house.
Indeed, the pandemic has affected many areas of public life. And now it is quite difficult to get back to business as usual, but over time, things will return to normal. We advise you not to dwell on pressing problems and constant stress but to learn to “dance in the rain”.
Photo by Edward Jenner from Pexels