We need to ponder over how a pandemic changes work and life

As the coronavirus pandemic has reached almost every corner of the world in an unprecedented way, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people, if not more, were told to stay at home or are under compulsory quarantine.

People across the world are eager to get their “normal” lives back, everyone is craving for some social interaction, to go “outside”, to host dinner parties or to just dine at their favorite restaurant again.

The reality may be disappointing, as the pandemic has been unfolding to such an extent that the world, or at least part of it, may be permanently changed. To some people, there will be no “normal” to return to. Meanwhile, for the rest of us, one question deserves to be seriously considered: Is there anything likely to be permanently changed by the pandemic in your industry and how is that going to affect your career and life?

The work-from-home arrangement has turned from a chic style among tech firms to a “must” and “essential” contingency plan for most nonmanufacturing companies during the pandemic. Twitter has announced that its employees can work from home permanently, while Google and Facebook said their employees can work from home until 2021.

Real-estate advisory companies in Hong Kong believe that more companies will see work-from-home as their Plan B, and they are more likely to set up satellite offices in future to avoid getting all their staff in just one place. The trend of decentralization, meaning companies are moving at least part of their functions out of the offices in primary districts, is picking up.

Currently, the vacancy rate of Grade-A offices in the central business district of Hong Kong is running at around 4.1 percent, from a ridiculously low level of 1 percent two years ago, and rentals have also come down by around 15 percent from their recent peak in the second quarter of 2019.

The retail sector has also been hit hard. During the past few months, we have all seen some of our beloved restaurants close for good; not just restaurants, the famous fashion chain, Esprit, has said it will close all its 56 outlets in Asia outside the Chinese mainland. Although the SAR government has lifted most of its restrictions on family and friends gathering together, from my observation, people have become used to sitting away from each other in restaurants, ordering takeaways and shopping online. I have never seen so many, particularly youngsters, on scooters or motorcycles, delivering food to people’s doorsteps. This is how you know at least one industry is booming.

Consumer behavior is also changing, particularly for those who live on the mainland. Those who were born after 1990, famous for their spending habits, are not interested in saving money and putting it in the bank — “they spend like Americans”.

The pandemic may be the first meaningful economic downturn in their lives; some have lost their jobs while others have suffered pay cuts. They do not seem too concerned about landing their next job, but their spending habits are starting to change.

I’ve talked to several of my younger friends living on the mainland. They are starting to do some reflection — “do I need so many designer handbags?” And almost all of them now believe they should save some money for a rainy day.

Things are changing, if not already have changed. So, what about us? What should we do to keep up with the changes? How are we going to continue achieving our goals in work and in life after the pandemic? I will leave that for you to think about.