People are back on foot for work. No signs of vaccines. Getting back to the new normal.
Let’s just start by saying, things haven’t been easy this year.
The economy has been scraping the bottom of the barrel for some slight activity, so obviously, any improvement or profitability has been way out of the league. The phased lockdowns, coupled with consistent social distancing norms even after the lockdowns have started lifting, have proven to be quite detrimental for the business scenario. Almost every sector has experienced inactivity and has even incurred considerable losses, and to put it politely, let us just say that no one likes 2020.
But things are slowly beginning to look up. While the pandemic is a major risk in literally every sphere that I can think of, and the fear of catching the coronavirus is looming larger than ever over our heads, the lockdowns are slowly being lifted. In fact, even from the point of view of healthcare, while the number of infected cases continues to skyrocket, the recovery rate has been growing as well. A number of recovered cases have started showing antibodies and the vaccine is probably quite close to safe-testing. It might be foolish to pin our hopes on the future because we still have no specific date for the vaccine or even any ironclad promise that the vaccine is indeed on its way, but at the same time, experts abroad have issued statements in favour of the vaccine’s fast approaching completion. But it is not like business houses will be counting on the release of the vaccine to resume their activity. The last few months have caused enough damage to most firms. Some have even completely run aground, thanks to economic inactivity and immobility of employees during the lockdown, and they will have to put in a humongous effort to resume their functionality. Almost no one is too keen on prolonging that ordeal.
The recession has taken a toll on the jobs market. Most private firms have had to resort to downsizing, in both high ranking positions as well as among employees who rank lower in the workplace hierarchy. So factoring all of that in, there definitely is a dearth of open positions to apply for jobs, and unemployment has reached a pretty threatening point, too. Overall, this is not the best time for job hunters for the frictionally unemployed.
But hopefully, there will be growth in the number of jobs in the next few months, because almost all companies will have to boost their activity in some way or the other. Many employees who have been working from home will eventually have to return to the workplace to resume their work like it was before. Frankly, covid 19 has enforced a number of new regulations that will have to be included in workplace ethics for quite some time to come.
This brings us to the discussion of the new normal. Business activity is en route to resuming normalcy but the pandemic has, in no way, blown over. So that is why it will be prudent to maintain all the covid 19 regulations to minimize the risk of vulnerability and susceptibility to the virus. For example, masks are bound to be a compulsory addition to any public situation, whether that is the nine to five workplace or a business trip. Workspaces will require regular cleaning and sanitization and presumably, a considerable sum will have to be directed that way to ensure the safety of the employees. Offices might have to restock on medical supplies, sanitization apparatuses, and health checking tools, so obviously, the new normal will be difficult to adjust to.
Given the current scenario, the least we can do is accept the new normal and figure out a way to resume functionality within this new paradigm. Fingers crossed, let us just hope that the vaccines come in soon so that things can finally start to look up!
