Sickness and the threat of widespread death drives people to embrace changes they normally wouldn’t make. The biggest change so far in the Covid-19 era is making teleworking the new normal.
I just spoke with a high ranking government official who said before Covid-19 struck, he was not in favor of letting people work from home. Now, his opinion has undergone a radical change in a mere few months. He says once everyone learned how to telework and was equipped with the right infrastructure to effectively connection and work remotely, he’s become a big fan!
Teleworking has leveled the playing field so to speak.
Before the pandemic, some offices allowed people to telework while others didn’t. And, even those that did had different policies so the adoption was uneven. And, this unevenness created friction within the organization.
Now that everyone is working remotely, people are effectively collaborating and sharing information! People are more available and respond more quickly to requests and queries. There are huge savings looming as the federal, state and local governments shutdown physical offices in favor of working from home. Even customer service has improved because more people are reachable using the telework platforms.
I know there is another market that will take a hit if all this office space suddenly is unrented. This problem goes even further and wider as one looks at shopping being done more online because of the pandemic. Suddenly, brick and mortar stores aren’t needed. I wonder, can thes buildings be turned into living and recreational spaces?
Big change is upon us!
What will our near-term and long-term future look like? I can’t wait to find out!
