By: Austin Grimm

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, one very commonly asked question around the world is “how will everything change as a result of this pandemic?”. After classes were suspended on March 11, 2020, I asked that very question over and over with my family and friends. This pandemic has been one of the most surreal experiences of my life, and perhaps, a pivotal point in everyone’s routine. Things will change. Everyone’s life will be different after this ends. 

I believe a key difference in the post-COVID era will be how we work. Fewer people will work face-to-face because businesses have adapted to this online format. This form of online-over-person will be dominant especially if new viruses emerge. The fact is “when people are forced to react to a deadly virus running rampant, they may be especially keen to keep future viruses at bay”1. Social distancing might not become normalized due to severe social restraints. However, the idea of working from home will become more accepted now that everyone is forced to work from home now. According to Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury from Harvard University, “workers may find that they like the flexibility of not driving every day and might be interested in making their self-selection to continuously work from home”2. The principle of working from home will start to become normal because people will learn that it is not necessary to drive to work when they can do the same at work. 

Another key difference between pre- and post-COVID would be social norms. In one regard, unemployment benefits will stop being seen as a lazy person check. With a large number of unemployed people, demands for these unemployment benefits will skyrocket as people’s lives depend on them. Forbes states, “With 3.3 million people applying for unemployment in one week, it became clear that there are economic gyrations that impact large swathes of people, regardless of their skills, abilities or work ethic”3. Lack of unemployment benefits for all of these people would not only cause them to suffer, but the entire economy would suffer tremendously. Right now the unemployment system is suffering due to the major load. Brookings Institute proclaims, “Although this level of support for displaced workers is unprecedented, the already-overloaded state UI agencies will also have to implement these changes as soon as possible to get money in the hands of residents”4. States are overwhelmed at trying to give out aid, and it’s prevented millions of Americans from getting the cash they need. Government aid may become normalized for several years after COVID as people will be struggling to pick up the rubble for a bit of time. 

Overall, many changes are heading our way around the world. This pandemic has caused huge losses and suffering for everyone. Hopefully, soon it will end and we can all go back to however normal we can get our lives to be. Things will change. Life will change. Our adaptability, however, is key to our survival, and this pandemic will make us stronger as a human race.

1 Svoboda, E. (2020, April 17). How The COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change the Way We Live. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-will-change-the-way-we-live.

2 Choudhury, P. (2020, March 16). How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/how-the-coronavirus-is-already-rewriting-the-future-of-business

3 Taherian, S. (2020, April 7). The New World: How The World Will Be Different After COVID-19. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzytaherian/2020/04/07/the-new-world-how-the-world-will-be-different-after-covid-19/#2ab6e6285d15


4  Goger, A., Loh, T. H., & George, C. (2020, April 7). Unemployment insurance is failing workers during COVID-19. Here’s how to strengthen it. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://www.brookings.edu/research/unemployment-insurance-is-failing-workers-during-covid-19-heres-how-to-strengthen-it/