I have a feeling the Coronavirus 19 virus almost forced us to go into another phase or era in the workforce (including more online business in replacement of human interactions). The ripple effect is unsettling but also inevitable. Many new method and ways of conducting business will be invented and kept after the epidemic.
Do you remember how the females (re)discovered their capacities in labour force and kept their jobs after they were forced to go to work when males are in battle during WW2? It is a similar scenario.
Pic credit to "Rosie the Riveter" Wikimedia Commons
In this case, the ways in which we do things will be no longer the same. We had a taste of how it is like to do remote work, perhaps there will be more people who request to keep that option, also lots of robots have been invented for the sake of the COVIC-19, such as the transporters in hospitals and new delivery method. On-line shopping for groceries will be prevalent in a few years. Perhaps after this whole pandemic ended, and even if we recovered, a lot of things at work will be changed permanently from this point on. Lots of new apps or development is in place (i.e. virtual conferencing using zoom, e-pay) to adapt to our current and future needs, including readily accessible online shoppings (groceries included), remote work, robot nurses/transporters to name a few. Mass co-curent information sharing due to internet prevalence on a global scale. Before you know it, we would be living a life just like some of those sci-fi movies where no physical contacts or interactions between human is needed. Streets will be empty for most part just like now and or we will mostly within our safe bubbles where we control everything by our voice and/or just our eye movement. (I am sure it would still take some time but the thought of this kind of change is happening right now is unsettling.)
Based on these changes, it is also very likely the labour market will make a shift as well. I cannot say for sure what are those but it will be different from the ones we had prior to the pandemic.
Perhaps this is a normal reaction and I am just a bit stressed with zero face to face human interactions in the past week. I don't know how some of you whom do remote work survive this. I know for certain I'd like to have and keep the human interactions if possible so that we can avoid having the similar consequence of the humans in Wall-E, thought was controlling the AI but turns out was controlled by AI. The humans there all reduced to segregated isolated individuals in their tiny own world by their selective information and people will never have coincidental meets or accidental discovery. all media is pre-programed and pre-selected. Humans are all surrounded by screens (apps, entertainments, news etc. they selected and prefer).
Staying at home & work creates a different kind of challenges and I admit it has been tough considering the uncertainties and the anxiety coming from the constant changes.
Hope you all stay safe and well!I also hope that day of virtual working come not sooner but later when we are more prepared and ready for the change. I certainly for one am not used to see the empty and zombie feel streets and can't wait to have some face to face contact with people soon.