Working from home can be hard. From family knocking on your door at the *best* of times, to pets taking up larger portions of your camera than you care to admit, there are many aspects of a home that begin to lose their charm when it doubles as your workspace.
Despite the challenges and occasional mishaps of working from home, you find the comfort of it to be convenient and occasionally, memorable. The anger caused by that lawnmower that has seemingly been going for hours melts away as you realize that you can keep wearing your sweats for a long day of meetings.
Creating a community and finding people to get to know has proven to be very hard throughout the past year. When everything shifts online, the support system that is provided by simple acquaintances and peers no longer exists.
Smirtha, a fully remote student at Waubonsie Valley High School
Remote Work: Employees are returning to work with a new mindset after working from home for over a year and expect more autonomy. Employers need to think differently to better manage their employees.
Business Travel: Traveling for business before important decisions are made now seems inefficient when there is an option to call for a first impression that provides a good basis. The Global Business Travel Association predicts that business travel will return to pre-COVID levels only in 2024.
With many of my classes being hybrid, I began to notice a shift in class attendance towards the end of the semester. With a class at 8:30 AM, many of my peers decided that it would be best for them to stick to “Zooming” into class.
Courtney, a rising Sophomore at Washington University of St. Louis
Asynchronous classes: When presented with an option to work on one’s schedule, many students take this opportunity now that they are more independent learners. New technologies and hybrid models will continue to be used but will not replace the need for faculty.
E-Commerce: With search engines and filters carefully curating the exact products and services one needs, leafing through stores seems avoidable. While it has been a challenging year for business, there have also been new opportunities.
Creating a virtual work environment can be difficult with the aspects of unprofessionalism that come into play occasionally, but the flexibility in scheduling creates an opportunity for untapped growth.
Jeyakrishnan, a Client Relationship Manager at Cognizant
Virtual events: While live-streaming an event is a great way to expand reach, the pandemic has caused people to take a step back and recognize the value of physical presence and energy. You’d expect fewer virtual events but a 74% of respondents to a survey want virtual events to continue.
A new post-covid life is slowly seeping in with vaccines being rolled out, but the questions we ask now seem comical from the view of the past. Who would have guessed that someday we would be able to see babies and wonder if they’ve ever seen the outside world? Looking ahead, we’re all in for a surprise in the development of our lives from here on out. What changes do you think you’ll notice?
Image Credits – Maxime Bhm, Annie Spratt and MChe Lee