Have we had enough of Corona? Yes!
But it’s very much still here. Every mask you see or the anxiety when a person gets close reminds you of the gutting reality that Corona has forcibly taken over our reality by the second. And what is there to do about it? Sit and wait.
An interview post on LinkedIn describes this phenomenon as the ‘coronalization’ of the world economy. Coronalization! This word has stuck with me. The more I think of it, the more fitting it seems.
We have been waiting for this alien way of living to end for months now. The alien way though is becoming the new normal. The world has changed in so many significant ways- now we can finally say that the coronavirus and we live side by side if not hand in hand.
What was life before this? I can imagine but it seems much further away than it actually is. Being under lockdown, on and off, this year has led to colossal changes in our work-lives and has managed to disrupt conventional work spaces. This has meant that many of us are working on our dining tables, balconies, sofas, just any space available. I hope you get the idea!
So yes we live in a coronalized world. It has brought many negatives but today I still choose to focus on the way we have successfully adapted to our co-corona reality. So let’s look at how the pandemic has led to the coronalization of our work life along with the things we have learned from it.
Firstly I have to commend our hyper online world for adapting to remote working. It might be a given to those of us who do it. But you may not realise how incredible it is for you to have totally uprooted from familiar work spaces and churned out the same productivity if not more during such stressful busy as well as lonely environments.
Working from alien spaces that are simultaneously spaces of comfort has not simply been a physical shift but also a mental one. Most importantly I think we have rightly proved that work from home does not reduce productivity.
The stigma of remote working and working from home resulting in less productivity has been stomped to the ground. In fact NBC News reports that there will be an explosion of remote working that coronalization has shoved at us.
Believe it or not this is actually great news. Of course right now with everything shut it may seem baneful, but when the world does open again this will be a coveted alternative for people who require such flexibility. This means that you do not have to necessarily be a freelancer to benefit from such modern working solutions. We can also start preparing for hybrid practices that will allow us to oscillate between office and home.
Another stigma that for a long time negatively affected remote workers was that they should be paid less than those in office. The perception has obviously changed with how the Pandemic has panned out. Working from home has led to heavier electricity and wifi bills among other things. Hence it would have made sense to be equally paid as workers use and pay for their own resources to do the job.
Forbes in their article discuss the pay structure for those whose work will continue to remain remote even after the Pandemic. The disruption of these stigmas mean that for those of us who would like to benefit from a modern non-physical workspace, we won't have to compromise on remunerations.
I hope more stigmas are undone and we as professionals get the reward of flexibility in the coming years.
Working at home in a coronalized 2020 has probably been the most unique of experiences. We have created blurred work and personal memories having children on team meetings and working next to disruptions from families and friends.
The standard 9am to 5pm work hours no longer hold ground as we find productivity in our own time. The shift in professional trust where we can find our own time to do what works best for us has been a blessing and hopefully in the future will continue to be. I hope such flexible solutions continue to develop into future work environments.
408 consultancy was founded amidst the Pandemic to help professionals map out their career. If you are struggling during this time and need help then reach out to us. We offer consultations and webinars to help steer your career in the right direction.
You got this!
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