We have all celebrated different types of anniversaries in our lives. But this month,  a lot of people are marking the anniversary of a different sort. It is a year since the Pandemic struck most parts of the world. A year since people started working out of their home or started online schooling. Some of them who had to go back to their workplace for various reasons are marking the anniversary of the new norms at the workplace, and the social distancing. It is the anniversary of everything, everywhere going virtual. A strange anniversary, indeed! 

Friends who said they could never work out of home because they thought their job needed them to be present at the workplace, have figured out ways to monitor everything remotely. Friends who said they have to travel to the client’s place for the procurement of business found out that deals can be signed from across the globe over video conferences. People were wracking their brains last year this time to figure things out and now we know how to get things done in spite of not being there in person. A strange anniversary, indeed!  

Around this time last year, we limited our search for resources, for a job, or for instructors/ teachers, to a 10- 20 miles radius. In order to learn something new or work in one of those dream companies, we had to live in certain neighborhoods or cities. Now the search has expanded globally. There are students learning art, dance, or instruments from proficient teachers living thousands of miles away from them. More people than ever have resorted to online courses than ever. It is the anniversary of the shift that led to new student-teacher relations and new credentials added to people’s resumes.  

We will have to wait and watch to find out what part of the workforce actually returns to offices, and what part continues to work from home. According to an article published in Workplace Analytics, there is an increased demand for work-from-home from employees. Managers have become more comfortable letting employees work away from the office. Moving to less expensive neighborhoods, lesser travel to meetings and conferences have helped people save money. It is a year to the setting of the stage for these new trends.  

The travel and tourism industry, one of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic, is slowly figuring out ways to open its gates. A “new normal” will emerge for this industry with the help of new technologies. As we wait and watch for the new normal, this industry is getting past one of its toughest years. One that we all hope never shows up again. 

The changes brought about to the society, to the economy, and to work trends are here to stay. Terms like Pre-pandemic and Post-pandemic are here to stay. We will in the future refer to this year as a great learning experience about how we succeeded in stretching ourselves beyond what we thought are our limits. At the same time, our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones due to the pandemic. That loss and pain can never be erased.

Around this time last year, we never thought we would be actually able to spend so much time indoors. I personally rejected and refused any news article that predicted the pandemic to linger around for over a year. A year seemed so long for us to not be able to do what we would otherwise indulge in. To yearn for everything that we took for granted, for as long as a year, seemed like a nightmare that could never come true. But then, I got through it. All of us got through it – One Step At A Time. One day at a time, we made it through this year. 

The lessons we learned in the last year are both humbling and one that brings out hope. We never thought a virus would bring the world to a standstill. At the same time, faith in the capability of our people and science kept us hopeful. 

In many ways, this is rightly described as a gateway between one world to another. Let us hope for a more sustainable model of life to emerge out of this whole experience.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

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