Re-imagining how we work, learn and interact post-lockdown
For the last 9 months of 2020 we were all counting down the days until the year was over, and now it is. With that in mind I guess now is the time we should start talking about designing and building the future, post 2020.
Unless you or your friends and family were directly effected by the virus itself, then like me the biggest impact you will have felt is the impact of our collective response to the virus — namely the widespread global lockdowns and how they effect work, education and how we consume and deliver services.
We can’t know what the post-Covid future will look like, but one thing we can be certain of is it won’t look like it did before. For the purposes of this and future blog posts I’m going to assume that in the next 12 to 18 months we’re all vaccinated and all pandemic related restrictions are lifted (fingers crossed!).
While that process of vaccination takes place, it seems to me that we’ve got a great opportunity here to think about and re-design the way we work and interact; taking the best bits of pre and post pandemic worlds to build a sustainable future that we want to be a part of.
Designing a post-lockdown future
Over the next few weeks and months I’m going to explore the following areas and explore some possible implications and opportunities and how we might (given enough motivation) build a better future around them:
- What would a complete re-design on the workplace experience look like if we adopt a remote first approach and what impact could this have on work/life balance?
- If employers no longer have to pay for office space, how could they reallocate the budget for equipment, perks and employee development?
- Without a permanent physical HQ what ways can we bring people physically together to encourage team-work, build bonds and socialise?
- What kind of positive impact could be had on the environment and climate change if we can eliminate the majority daily commutes and business air travel?
- With the elimination of geography as barrier to accessing both education and employment how many more opportunities are made available to those living outside of major cities?
- If we don’t have to be located within major cities to access employment or education then what does that mean for my choice of where I live and work?
- If anyone can work from anywhere will we have a true meritocracy with equal opportunities for all? What impacts will this have on the global talent market?
- What problems still need to be solved and what tools and software do we need to build to fully support a re-imagined workplace and new ways of working?
Explore this with me
If you re interested in exploring ways I which we can re-imagine the way we work, learn, live and interact in a post-lockdown world then please follow me on Medium or Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn or sign up to my Substack newsletter. New content will be published every Tuesday.
