Words: Alexis Krachai, President of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce.
It’s the fifth anniversary since the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown. Like any birthday, it triggers reflection and many to reach for a soundbite. Here’s mine. In March 2020 the world of work changed, obviously and profoundly; but it didn’t.
The economy is constantly changing, evolving and prone to sudden shifts. Just ask Donald Trump. As I write this, he has just turned the global trading system upside down. Prior to Covid the world of work wasn’t static. It never is. The pandemic meant we got used to some profound changes quite quickly, and then things settled down to a new ‘normal’.
If you work in a high-street business, I suspect working patterns are broadly the same – just quieter. Though Covid changed the flow of how cities and towns work. There are fewer office workers out to shop at lunch. The Friday drink has been replaced by the Thursday tipple. A trip to town is now a weekend blow-out.
If you work in a manufacturing business, I suspect working patterns are broadly the same – just busier. You’re likely working harder and longer. Work is more intense – money for investment is being spent on higher energy bills. New orders and new markets are in flux as the global trading system endures shock after shock.
If you work in frontline public services, I suspect working patterns are broadly the same – just more virtual. You might see your manager on a screen more than in person. There is a split between those who can work from home and those who cannot. Prior to Covid things were difficult, and they likely still are, as the UK’s low investment in public services dates back to 2008.
If you work in an office, that’s where the changes have been most felt. Many, if not all of us, went through a similar experience. We went from wondering what Zoom was to becoming expert users in six months. And we suddenly realised the point of Microsoft Teams. As the years passed, we saw recruitment decisions change. You can now, theoretically, hire anyone from anywhere. You can, equally, lose a valued member of staff to a competitor halfway around the world. The monotony of the 9–5 day in and day out was replaced by hybrid working, flexible working, fully remote working and everything in between.
Some mourn the passing of the predictability and certainty of having ‘everyone in’ Monday to Friday. More companies are supposedly demanding more time back in offices. That is their judgement in an ever-changing world, but as the Covid pandemic reaches its fifth birthday, here is one prediction. AI will have more impact on the world of work than anything Covid threw at us. Or perhaps it won’t? As famed American researcher and futurist Roy Amara said: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”
What this all points to is the global economy is constantly changing, which in turn prompts constant changes in the world of work. Sometimes that change is accelerated owing to events like pandemics and the election of new American presidents. At other times the rate of change is slower.
What always matters is those businesses who can lift their gaze and stay agile are likely to do well. Covid taught us that humans have incredible resilience, agility and the capacity to solve problems – whatever the circumstances. Does that mean where and how we work are simply passing fads?
