How COVID-19 is transforming the world of work as we know it

Despite the initial challenges and organizational teething problems, remote work and Zoom meetings have become the new normal within just a few months.

Now, as the COVID-19 outbreak subsides in many countries, many employees will now start returning gradually to the workplace. The office experience is likely to be slightly unfamiliar, of course, as employers take extra precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Changes to the physical office space are likely to be only temporary and largely superficial. At the same time, much greater changes are quickly bubbling up to the surface, promising to transform both the workforce and the workplace.

According to Prof. Guy Mundlak of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law and Department of Labor Studies, the coronavirus outbreak has “expedited a lot of prophecies” regarding the world of work that would otherwise have occurred incrementally and quietly.

“If reports by international organizations talked about the changing workplace in 2030, we can now see some of these predictions about the workplace or labor market in March 2020,” he told The Jerusalem Post.

The current outbreak has sparked a series of debates, Mundlak said, citing discussions surrounding the threat of a “jobless future” as various sectors cease operations, the feasibility of remote work and the relationship between man and machine at a time of increased automation.

“Following this crisis, some employers and employees who experienced remote work will realize that it is a catastrophe, and others will see the advantages,” he said. “Maybe employers will ask people to work one day a week at home, which would be a major benefit for the ecological crisis.

Transitioning into the future of work would be part of a greener economy.”

The emergence of the so-called “gig economy” has been a key workforce trend in recent years, with Gen Y or millennials perceived as the primary driving force behind the increasing preference for freelance or independent work.

Could the coronavirus pandemic have dealt a blow to the gig economy trend? Mundlak said freelancers have quickly discovered during the crisis that they lack the social-security protections available to salaried employees.

“All kinds of spontaneous donations from social-security systems to freelancers do not extend the same coverage

or at school during the heat wave, and restaurants, bars and even hotels will open on May 27. He took credit for a decision to allow banquet halls to open on June 14 – the date the Health Ministry had already set for allowing larger facilities to