On a bright, sunny Tuesday morning in September 2001, the world turned upside down. Coordinated terrorist attacks on U.S. soil left 2,977 people dead and a nation on edge.
We rallied in the aftermath, but for those not directly impacted by 9/11, the disruption to our daily lives wasn't profound. We were back to the grind almost immediately. Air travel became more cumbersome. We had a war to worry about. But the day-to-day seemed surprisingly normal.
How we and our families learned, lived, interacted and worked stayed pretty much the same.
The coronavirus pandemic today is far different. As of Thursday, April 2, nearly 92% of the U.S. population was under stay-at-home orders, including in Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine extended his statewide order until May 1. That decree, which started on March 23, closes nonessential businesses in the state.
We are hunkered down in our homes, working remotely by day, "Zooming" into meetings and communicating via text and conference call. And by night we entertain ourselves and our families.
When we do go out — and the weather has given us plenty of reason to do that lately — we're keeping our social distance, even when walking our dogs. Social distance. Think about that. We'd never heard of it a few short weeks ago and now "social distancing" is a well-used verb.
We don't know how all this will change the way we work and interact, but I am convinced it will change the way we run our businesses, especially white-collar workplaces.
With the services sector now making up roughly 80% of GDP, it's easy to come to that conclusion. Thanks to technology, almost half of adult employees work outside the workplace at least once a month, according to a Pew Research Center survey in 2014.
Consider that survey was done six years ago. In just the last few weeks, COVID-19 has forced sweeping changes that will be transformational and, for most businesses, lasting. A shock like this forces behavioral changes.
Businesses that were slow to adopt work-from-home policies have been forced to incorporate them literally overnight.
And, in most cases, I'd bet they are finding that working remotely does not grind business to a halt.
Communication among individuals, teams and the entire company continues, thanks to chat and instant messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Video conferencing software — think Zoom and Google Hangouts — allows for virtual meetings where screens can be shared and participants can see each other. If anything, I believe we at Crain's are actually communicating more and better in the past few weeks, and I know that will carry over into the next few years and beyond.
When the stay-at-home orders are relaxed and we can return to work, how many businesses will allow more employees to telecommute regularly? What will change? Fewer in-person meetings? Business travel reductions? Smaller office footprints?
I've talked to a number of business leaders in the last week who say they believe their way of doing business will change, long term, for the better because of the adaptations COVID-19 forced.
What do you think? Please let me know how your company is currently adapting during the coronavirus pandemic and what changes you envision when the crisis ends. You can email me at [email protected]
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April 05, 2020 at 03:00PM
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Sweeping changes could be lasting for businesses - Crain's Cleveland Business
"lasting" - Google News
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