Summer (at least in the northern hemisphere) is almost over and 2020 will be one of the most memorable years in recorded history, for all the wrong reasons. By now the words & phrases pandemic, covid19, recession, new normal, social distancing, work from home, lockdown, return to work, protests, mask debate, and numerous others may be forever etched into the history books of the future when this year will be discussed. No matter how many descriptive words can be used, two stick out: pandemic and recession, with the world wondering when some level of normality returns. The short and immediate answer is that it will actually depend on the country you live in right now. Some – with the usage of masks – have already managed to get a degree of the daily routine back, while others are returning back into lockdowns after loosening restrictions caused a surge in the cases of the coronavirus.
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Lockdown Unlocked – The Rest Of 2020
While overused as any other current trending phrase, “new normal” certainly insist that perhaps, for now, that level of normality is more present then we think. It tries to define that countries are already within “relative” normality considering all that’s going on; however, decades and even centuries of foundation & culture aren’t just going to comply with that, and already reports on how this alternate normality isn’t sustainable are cropping up.
While numerous companies are also making a PR (and safety?) push to demonstrate how flexible they are, such as switching over to remote working at least for the time being, some are trying to bring the employees back in as soon as they can. While there are numerous reports and trends being spread across the media about the current working culture, the general consensus seems that the workplace is not dead (far from it) and eventually it will get integrated back into the employee routine with some exceptions being made with remote options being introduced.
The impact of the current situation has also had a changing effect on businesses and has even started to redefine industries. For example, companies such as Roomzilla are trying to lead the return to work culture by continuing to evolve its product based on the current and upcoming trends. Traditionally, this company and the industry it was a part of, were grouped into the conference room booking system category; however, even before the pandemic, it started to already develop itself as more of a full workplace management solution.
Now, with the current situation in play, features the company and its competitors offer continue to expand with new options such as hotdesk management and contactless options (like QR code-based booking). A real revival has happened within this industry now as it emerges as one of the key tools for starting to both safely bring staff back to the workplace and manage its space optimally to comply with current restrictions.
Why that is interesting also is because what should have been an industry that shut down immediately due to the current global crises & pandemic, appears to be one that has reinvented itself to actually play a crucial part in not necessarily the new normal, but helping the planet return to some level of the original normal itself. With ongoing innovation such as this example and other technologies, there is hope that 2021 at least will be a period of initial stable recovery. Until then, stay safe and healthy.
