When I started teaching about fourty years ago, we had no idea that we would one day have a computer in the school that would be able to perform certain administrative tasks. Yet about 15 years later the school had its own computer and we need not write each student’s report card anymore. It was printed on the computer, yet only those teachers trained for it were allowed to work on the computer.
Computers came to stay
We all realized that computers came to stay and I had the privilege to do quite a number of computer courses to help me on the way. Nowadays my children each have besides their personal computers also one that the companies they work for, have supplied to them.
Over the past thirty years the role of computers and the internet in the economy increased dramatically. Almost every job, every project and every business / organization use computer and internet technology to get the job done. It becomes increasingly difficult to do any business without the use of these technologies.
Dramatic increase
But since the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown in most countries, its use increased with leaps and bounds as never seen before.
All of a sudden everybody who can possibly work from home, is doing so.
Everyone who is lonely, send messages and call friends and family continually. I saw in a newspaper article that the number of Zoom calls worldwide increased from 25 million before the lockdown to 200 million per day since the lockdown. Many people also started writing blogs and Facebook posts and even started posting videos on YouTube.
I believe that as the role of technology never decreased since computers, smartphones and the internet became the norm, so also will the increased levels of the use of these technologies during this time, become the new norm. I don’t believe it will go back to the same level as before the lockdown.
This alone I believe will bring a major shift in the economy and how we work.
# People working from home
I think that people now working from home will reason that if my employers could trust me to do my work during this time, why can’t they trust me to do the same when there is not a crisis?
I believe that this time of lockdown just proved what was already possible by means of the available technology.
One challenge though that many workers may face, is that the ways of remuneration might change as a result. Until now many people were paid for the time they were available at work, e.g. a salary for a month’s work.
Contract workers
When people work at home where there is no oversight, companies will most probably opt for payment according to what was delivered.
Therefore you can only earn more when you produce more or if you can negotiate a higher price per deliverable.
This means that most people may end up working on a contract basis and many benefits like a pension fund, medical aid and paid holidays may become a pre-covid-19 luxury.
Nothing is certain about the future, so perhaps the turn of events may not be that harsh, but it is better to be psychologically prepared should your job be affected in such a way.
Maybe after this time of turmoil, you’ll be looking for a job or business that will better match your personality. If you are that person, a Career Direct Assessment will help you find the right direction. It will not only show who you are, but will also point you in the right direction.
