The the effect of Covid 19 has caught us all unprepared. It has been quite an event, a major event in the history of the world – the likes of world war. It is one of those things that presents a major paradigm shift – undoubtedly, we will not be the same after this pandemic.
Covid chaos
When so many countries started to implement shutdown policies to curve the spread of the virus, expert in all fields of human endeavor though it was the worst thing that could have happened to the world. Economic experts were particularly jarring in their analysis – they were like prophets of doom. Watching international news was a nightmare to so many of us.
This is what the World Bank has to say, “over the longer horizon, the deep recessions triggered by the pandemic are expected to leave lasting scars through lower investment, an erosion of human capital through lost work and schooling, and fragmentation of global trade and supply linkages.” (World Bank 2020)
Families, as the foundation of societies, were worried and confused, particularly in the aspect of children education and daily sustenance. Uncertainties around the negative effect of home-schooling loomed in countries that have that luxury. And to those that do not, it was an additional blow.
Organizations, both profit and non-profit were in absolute devastation. Businesses were in a state of confusion trying so hard to keep their head up, retain their businesses, keep their employees, and their customers. Making profit was almost the least of their concerns. Millions lost their jobs and hundreds of thousand businesses file bankruptcies. A total nightmare!
Realization
It is now dawn on everyone that after Covid – 19, the world as we know it will never be the same. Our personal lives and organizational activities will change – hopefully, for the better.
Most organizations particularly realized that their organizational structure was faulty. And that most had not had a plan on how to deal with outbreak of any sort or any natural disaster for that matter.
Organizations that equipped themselves with tools – such as advance technology and flexible working condition have come up even stronger during this pandemic. Take the tech giant companies as an example, they seemed to have been living ahead of their times – they have all this structure that makes their work flexible. While the rest of the world is losing to Covid, they are enjoying even higher gains, even better than before the start of the pandemic.
Social media as a networking and marketing avenue has been tested and reaffirmed. I believe before this pandemic, even with all the popularity of social media, a lot of people were skeptical about it most especially regarding the issue of privacy. But with Covid, social media has become a rescuer of a sort that connect us with the world – had it been for social media most of us would have lost our social human connections. A lot of small and medium businesses have managed to continue their business activities all thanks to social media. Even the well-established corporations rely heavily on social media today!
Way forward
Organizations should have, as a matter of importance and urgency, a disaster recovery plan. Because if anything Covid – 19 has taught us that disasters can happen at any time. No organization can afford a repeat of the disruption that Covid brought in near future and no serious organization will risk it.
Technology, particularly video conferencing technologies, and other media sharing technologies are an absolute necessity for organization and individual. Now more than ever, technological infrastructure has become an essential part of organizational needs perhaps more than physical building structure in some cases.
Finally, and above all, flexible thinking should be the way to go for both individuals and organizations. All should be flexible to change. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!
Reference
The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World. (June 8, 2020). Retrieved from https://worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/08/the-global-economic-outlook-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-changed-world
