The New Normal Post Corona

Covid-19 cases are reducing in some countries - slowly life is returning to `normal', or is it? What is normal after the lock down? The lock down brought about so many changes, some very apparent, others very subtle. But changes are here to stay.

1. Grocery shopping made easy - yeap, we had that as an option pre-corona but post-corona we realise that sometimes it is better to order online because we get a variety to buy from without ever stepping out of the house. The norm was to go to the closest supermarket and buy whatever groceries we need, or an early morning trip to the neighbourhood wet market for fresh produce. Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was put in place, the early morning markets were accessible but with the fear that the virus may infect. Social distancing was required, entry into supermarkets were limited with security guards checking everyone's temperature, mask was a requirement, police checks were all over, that travelling was very painful. So, most of us opted to buy online, alas, the usual delivery companies were overwhelmed with orders, so entered new players. Vegetables, to meat, to dry groceries, you name it, it's available online - website, delivery folks or just over whatsapp. See, how life took a drastic turn? 

If one needed ethnic based groceries, just look out for Indian stores online or Indian delivery service - the same goes for Arab, Bangladeshi etc. Convenience was one thing

, variety was another, the virus just added to that. Ease of payment - cash, online transfer, e-wallets - you name it. So, who needs to step out? So, now everyone can focus on what's important to them - be lean and live a fuller life.

 2. Another revolutionary thing was learning. Many schools have gone online - yeap, schools. I remember when I was working for an online university a couple of years ago - we had wanted to launch bachelor programme in business administration. The Ministry of Education had approved it but it could not take off simply because most parents were of the opinion that they need their children to attend brick and mortar universities, not online cyber unis. Since the MCO started, my neighbours daughter has started online schooling, don't talk about university - this is school. She does minimum 7 hours of video based studying, attending online classes and then after logging off spends time doing her homework. Classes last 5 days a week. The only difference is the lack of physical exercise classes which are part of the normal curriculum. Then again, schooling can also be a blend - on and off line. Imagine, some schools are pretty expensive because of the infrastructure that they offer. Many parents could not afford such fees. So, imagine if the parent chooses online mode and only needs to send the child over once in two weeks for some physically present classes. Fees can be made affordable. In other words, the child spends more time around the parents and the family need not toil to earn more just to secure decently good education. That would mean perhaps single income would suffice and one parent could stay home or work from home. 

3. Work from home - the new normal, though for me it is not. When I was working for the online university, I used to work from home a lot. That gave me flexibility to do many things during normal working hours without having to take leave. It gave me time off to pick my daughter up from school and then resume work. That was the upside, then again there is the downside - working hours are not set. Work was designed based on deliverables. If one needs to deliver something within some designated time, one has to ensure that happens because that was how one would be judged on performance. So, I have taken calls from the head office at 2.30 a.m. before! No one checks to see if you are online, all that was needed were the deliverables. If you need to go to office you can walk in coolly anytime as long as your deliverable for the day is fulfilled. You can choose to escape traffic by leaving early on rainy days or arrive later on days when traffic has been reported as bad. However, companies that are new to this type of working try to bring conventional work to online, which may not be ideal. If people are expected to work over weekend, the bosses need to cut some slack on week days as one may need to run to the grocery store to buy something. But their work arrangement may not accommodate that if work is based on attendance. That means one needs to be seen online during the normal working hours. That also means once the normal hours end, one should not expect the employees to remain online. There is no blended mode for this. It is either this way or the other way. The good thing about work from home is that one need not rush to catch bus or train to reach office on time or worry about being stuck in the traffic. It reduces stress. 

With the MCO companies that never thought they can accommodate work from home are now reconsidering. Some questions to ask - how can the compensation be made more attractive yet not be heavy on the company? do we need such a huge office? some allowances need to be replaced e.g. petrol allowance, parking allowance etc. 

The above are just come of the areas which would certainly not remain the same once everything goes back to normal - the new normal. Human beings are special - they adjust to just about anything and this time around they will adjust too - to the new normal post corona.