Haider al Lawati haiderdawood@hotmail.com[/caption]
The world has lost a lot of jobs during the past five months as a result of the ongoing pandemic crisis since the beginning of 2020. Today, millions of people continue to do their work from homes, relying on the policy of social distancing, although some countries recently started allowing certain categories of employees to return to the office.
During recent months, some institutions have conducted a number of researches related to the impact of the coronavirus on the current and future job market in Arab countries, including the Gulf Cooperation Council. The study of "Bayt.com" and "YouGov", relates to people's expectations about the impact of technology in daily business in light of the continuing crisis. The research shows that more than 65 per cent of workers in the region expect that the hunt for jobs will be done via the Internet, and this will increase in the coming years in light of the continuation of the coronavirus. Everyone knows that the pandemic has greatly impacted workers, which has led them to change their routine work and adapt to the new situation.
Today, modern technology has enabled routine office work to be performed from home. About 81 per cent of those who participated in the study stated that technology has contributed to reducing exposure to the virus. Nevertheless, the number of infections in the region has not declined, but on the contrary, is on the increase. Deaths are on the uptick as well. However, work done by remote means reduces and limits the number of people infected with this deadly virus.
The importance of these technologies and electronic applications, as exemplified by Zoom – which has made its founder a very rich man in a very short time – will persist. More than 53 per cent of those surveyed said they meet virtually with the aim of avoiding physical contact.
Today, this pandemic is pushing young people to equip themselves with skills necessary to do their work remotely. Around 80 per cent said they expect the virus to impact their future employment prospects if they do not possess the requisite technological skills. Indeed, the disease drives everyone -- former, current and future employees – to stay updated with these new technologies while at the same time adhering to hygiene precautions.
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