After penning down my views on how the dynamics of businesses will change but then I got thinking what changes would and should manifest in the world that surrounds us all after the virus has been contained. I believe that the rules that we have lived by won’t all apply in the new world once this pandemic is controlled and the routine and normalcy of our old lives return. Or will it ever return? How quickly the awareness recedes and the scars of this time heal will be different for different people.

Over the last decade, we have seen the growth of a more radical, rightist-approach – ‘My way or the highway’ and of my people vs. your people. More noise & less voice; more of hearing and less of listening; more advice and less of action; more of me than we; more of barriers (trade, social, economic, technology and religious barriers) than even playing ground; more of isolation than interconnectivity; more of perception-building  and deception than honesty and integrity. We were on the path of ‘social distancing’ in any case but current situation has only accelerated the process. This gradual shift in our approach has made us reach where we stand as a society today but where does it really take us from here?

This is a wake-up call! Wake up call to know all that has been slow-seeded in our minds so far is a fairly shallow viewpoint. Then again, we can either ignore it and hope to return to our ‘normal’ way of life or take notice because it is the time for bringing about transformation and reorganization.

I strongly stand by the view that there will be an increased consciousness that interconnectedness is the basis. Societies all over the world will appreciate that being in silos can only be a short-term approach. At the moment, we have learnt to look past the differences when faced with a shared external threat of a colossal magnitude.

In the future however, this will happen also under normal circumstances because nothing in the past has ever put people all over the globe in a position that they are facing today and with that we are harnessing a new sense of solidarity. Capacity-building programs globally and international collaboration would help each country to find a niche for themselves, serve as a fitting part of the global supply chain. Open and transparent knowledge sharing and ease of workers’ movement will be the new work order.

What’s next- Virtual legislating? Analysts are also exploring the possibility of government institutions to go virtual permanently. There will be a realization that a functioning government is crucial for a healthy society. For governments- Seize the opportunity to retain public trust!

This is a time of transforming the era of historic inequality into one with economic inclusion because of danger of the inequality gap to widen. What if world statutory bodies like World Bank and United Nations and its sister organizations to be re-founded? If these bodies are to be reinstated in its erstwhile place then they will also regain the respect and independence which the powerful have eroded for their own selfish good. If all countries, big and small are to align with these bodies they can carry out their respective roles behave like a Global ombudsman, overseer, inspector and global policy maker.

Maybe religious worship will also look different, without the human touch and the sacred ambience offered by rituals and holy sites, the very meaning of religion is in danger. All religions have had to deal with crisis at some point of time in the past. They have had to deal with the challenge of keeping faith alive but not all at the same time.

Trauma of the pandemic will force society to accept restraints on mass consumer culture as a reasonable price to pay to defend ourselves from what lies ahead. Between health and material wealth, health will take precedence. There will be stronger family care and a shift of where and the way in which healthcare delivery takes place. Telemedicine is likely to see a rise or maybe like e-tailers, the coming times will see health e-tailing of products and services. There would be an increased inquisitiveness in innovations and innovative practices that strive for good physical & mental health. In fact, responsible innovation will gather steam. Science will reign again and this crisis will actually force people into accepting that ‘expertise matters’.

One other sector that I sense will see a paradigm shift would be the Education sector. The current crisis will make experts have a re-look at the content, delivery channels and consumption patterns to make it effective. Focus will shift towards imparting more livelihood skills than just ‘knowledge’. My suggestion- Create your own job rather than finding one! 

I feel that a lot of us are being able to survive this crisis due to digital technology- Facebook, Whatsapp, TikTok, Skype, Zoom, to name a few. Whether it is having access to headlines, or looking up some quick food recipes, or video-calling near and dear ones. Digital platforms are our window to the world now, and in the world after the pandemic has been controlled, social media platforms will be as widespread now if not more. People might actually happily forget that brief period of time where they are had turned cynical and critical about social media. But for people who care about freedom, privacy and individual rights, the world that we will walk into might look much more worrying.

There will be lasting changes in our habits and values. We may not be able to travel as freely for some time to come. We may feel safer in the comfort our personal vehicles than in mass-transit systems. Face masks and gloves may become part of our everyday attire and there may be drastic changes in the way we greet. Less communal dining, maybe people will cook more, maybe food delivery will triumph. As a society we may actually find comfort in absence rather than comfort in the presence of others. Maybe we’ll all be found online more than we are offline.

But we will surely come out of this with decreased individualism and a heightened sense of empathy and global interconnectedness!