The 30-second commute, and a dozen other things to work on after the pandemic
After the pandemic, we might want to keep up some of the things we've changed
As I was thinking about this column on Friday morning, I got my coffee and set out on my walk to work. It didn't take very long; like the other weeks this spring, it meant trotting out of the kitchen, across the living room and straight to the couch.
That 30-second commute is pretty sweet, and even more at the end of the day. When I've tapped my last note and closed the lid on my laptop, it's more than satisfying to be instantly home and off duty, as if I've just teleported.
Anyone working from home will likely know there are drawbacks to it, too. The thin line some people already had about the work-home balance can be obliterated, and many parents with small children have been struggling. (We'll get to that in a moment.)
But there have been upsides to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, despite a literal world of turmoil — the planet was in just a few months devastated by a virus that moved far faster than other pandemic diseases — we all have been learning things about ourselves, and we work, live, eat, communicate and share.
Here are some of the things that might stick around, post-pandemic.
Flexibility for at-home working. I've recently been on several calls with colleagues around the country. All of us were at home, and some are surprised by how much they prefer it over traditional work. "I really, really like working at home," said one, from Winnipeg. This week I came across friends on a trail. One of them said he'll go back to work soon, but would like some flexibility — working from home has turned out to be just as productive.
Cutting down on unnecessary travel. I heard this frequently in the earlier weeks of the pandemic, when much work travel was called down, and many people reported they didn't mind missing the disruptions. A friend of mine was relieved, and told me they wound up getting a lot done during a Zoom meeting.
Eyes have been opened
Rethinking workspaces. It might surprise you to know how many of us at CBC have been working from our homes. We've been able to keep production running fairly normally with just a very small number of people at the building. (Ramona Dearing, for instance, hosts CrossTalk each day from her home.) Like other places, we're phasing back to "normal," but — like others — the last few months have opened our eyes to workflow and possibilities that can be explored down the road.
Universal child care. Some wonky types feel that this has always been a pipe dream; advocates argue otherwise. The crunch for parents who've tried juggling at-home work with parenting has been so intense this spring that there's small wonder that thoughts of a universal child-care program are back on the front burner.
Finding your inner MacGyver. There's nothing like reduced resources to heighten innovation. I and some colleagues are really hoping that the imagination we've lately needed for problem-solving will continue when we're all back in the building. I know from a couple of business owners that they want this kind of creative thinking to continue.
Therapy for retail: I know a lot of people have been missing their "retail therapy" moments, but it's been clear that retail makes up not just a big part of the economy, but a significant part of our lives. Many of them are small businesses and locally owned. I've been eager to show my appreciation to a few places that I really missed.
Stop buying junk. The flipside of craving a good shop is realizing just how much unnecessary stuff we've collected. How many people have bought things they really don't need?
A new sense of purpose
Rethinking business models. A few weeks ago, I had a revealing talk with a restaurant manager about what they've learned by switching to a to-go model. She said while they're eager to have guests in the restaurant again, they also want to go further with what they've learned. She said they've found customers they had never met before. In our reporting over the previous weeks, we've heard that theme again. A good friend of ours owns a small store; she's reinvented the space and reopened this week with a new sense of purpose.
Distance learning that truly works. Many parents were disappointed by what happened after the schools closed in March … particularly as the weeks ticked by. While the English School District is still trying to figure out what the fall will be like (there's no guarantee at all that classes will resume in actual classrooms), we should also look at the broader horizon. The promise of distance education that was shown decades ago has not been fully delivered; the inability to ensure every child can receive an excellent education at home proves it. These are not simple hurdles. But why not think ambitiously, and creatively, and especially in ways that support those furthest away from the cities?
Food security. Like Snowmageddon, the pandemic has exposed serious gaps in food security that have been there all along. We're exploring this issue this year in a series called Fed Up. It was pressing when my colleague Amy Joy started work on it. The last few months have only underscored how critical it is. We need to lean into this much more intentionally.
Public health appreciation week: … should be every week. Honestly, a silver lining in a pandemic has to be a broader understanding of the principles of public health. We take the public health system for granted, and hopefully more of us better grasp how utterly critical that system is. Also: without having access to non-urgent care for a few months, maybe more patients will show up for their scheduled appointments. I've always been astonished by the prevalence of no-shows. Perhaps that will now abate and people will not be so cavalier about missing them. UPDATE: A commenter wisely pointed out something I had neglected: the value of hand-washing. How many of us learned in the early weeks the proper way to wash our hands? I surely hope that these good habits stick.
DIY FTW. I don't think I've ever seen as many people simultaneously exploring do-it-yourself projects, from planting seeds to home repair to sewing to … the list is long. My favourite passion has been cooking, and the slow kind: chopping vegetables has been weirdly soothing to me. And we've had much better meals because of it. Our agenda for the weekend includes a list of things we want to do around the house, some practical, others aspirational. I doubt we're alone.
That's my list, or at least what I've heard and observed. This pandemic is teaching us many things. One of them is that the "new normal" is something we can design and define for ourselves.
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