It is hard to define a comprehensive timeline of the pandemic. The origin of it can be traced back to when the World Health Organization declared it officially, on March 11, 2020.
In the statement, the WHO warned that “Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.”
And indeed it created suffering and death, as well as enormous damage to the global economy. Some saw this as the de facto end of Globalization, a process started decades ago, and — according to this theory — ended in a few months. In my opinion, though, I see it more as a transition from physical to digital, perhaps a sudden one, but if we had more non-pandemic years, it might have eventually happened.
Think for example of remote working. Does an accountant really need to commute to work every day? How about a graphic designer? And a lawyer? Indeed human connection is a large chunk of the work experience, but again, is that pivotal or accessory?
In Pareto’s principle, meeting in person belongs to the 80 per cent that produces 20 per cent or to the 20 per cent that produces the 80 per cent? It is entirely up to debate.
I am sure that there are jobs where a person stepping into the physical meeting changes the outcome drastically, but it is also true that for the majority of the white-collar jobs, a lot their duties can be performed from home.
This opened up a whole can of worms that suddenly hit some industries and transformed into profits for others. A clear example is real estate. Is it still worth investing in commercial/office buildings?
Looking at the tremendous amount of growth in online sales and the abrupt introduction of “work from home”, sounds like a bad idea to continue investing in such a segment of real estate. Property owners all over the world are struggling to collect rent, for residential indeed, but more often than not those that are hurt badly are the commercial owners.
Then the entire equation changes. Working more from home means that our houses and flats need to be designed to accommodate new tasks and new comfort. I experienced it myself when I bought a new office chair for my computer desk at home. It is the first time in my life that I spend more than $200 on a computer chair at home… In the past, I spent such an amount only when making my office more comfortable, but now, my home is my office.
Another sector that has benefitted is DIY. With more time spent at home, things tend to break more easily than before, and with more time on hand — and perhaps less disposable income — we rather fix it ourselves than hiring a third party to do so.
A controversial industry that has been impacted is Food & Beverage. While truly physical restaurants have suffered a sudden drop in sales, it is also fair to point out that others have turned their kitchens into a food delivery business. While saving on the cost of waiting the tables, and perhaps downsizing on rentals, they managed to stay into profits thanks to takeaways.
[The columnist is a member of the International Press Association]
Stefano Virgilli
stefano@virgilli.com
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