Covid-19 has been disruptive for the entire world, pushing it into an unparalleled economic and social predicament. Thousands lost their job, had to leave their home, or look for alternative means of living. Furthermore, the pandemic has caused the death of more than 1.5 million people across the globe. In financial terms, the pandemic caused a worse global recession than the Second World War.
How is the world going to be post-pandemic? What economic and social challenges will people face? These looming questions have become nightmares for countless people irrespective of where they live. Current times require an analysis of the challenge posed by the covid-19 and the steps needed for a better future.
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The Health Sector Requires People With Advanced Skills
The health sector is among the most affected areas by the pandemic. A crazy incursion of patients to the healthcare facilities brought out all the fractures in its structure and the reality of its preparedness for a national emergency of such a magnitude. The sector faced a shortage of qualified employees who had the skills and competencies to deal with the pandemic.
It became evident that it needed leaders who could work at lower levels and lower-tier workers who could assume leadership roles. However, academic institutions quickly responded to such needs. The development of online courses geared towards imparting advanced leadership skills at the master level is one of the steps taken in the right direction. People are going for relevant degrees to take charge in such situations, like an MHL degree to contribute to the healthcare industry with a technology-savvy developmental mindset. These skill development degrees are essential to make up for the scarcity of leadership skills at all levels. Such degrees prepare the employees in the healthcare sector for unexpected roles at unforeseen times.
Improved Skill Development Initiatives
During the pandemic, many people could not find jobs outside traditional work opportunities. Around the globe, governments engaged in quick money transfers to underprivileged strata of the community. Though, these transfers helped them live through the initial days of lockdown and unemployment. The problem with such cash transfers is that they are not long-term; money will end one day after all. The lack of unconventional skills among people is also a factor leading to unemployment. It is one of the biggest challenges of the pandemic. The future requires people to enhance their skills and competencies not limited by their degree or sector.
For instance, people who were aware of digital marketing and online work opportunities such as graphic designing, content creation, etc., were able to find work even after losing their office jobs. Thus, online skills development courses are the only way forward until their formal work-life comes to normalcy. These skills will help them with the skill deficiency even after the pandemic, as they offer an extra source of income.
Better Online Education Opportunities
An interesting fact is that, With the social distancing measures in place, people are confined to their homes. Every aspect of their life, including education, is under threat. It will take some time before physical classes became the norm again. However, the world can no longer ignore the education of millions of students across the globe. There is no repudiating that online education is taking place. However, there are frequent online learning systems crashes and a lack of communication between management and students.
Improving the quality of online education is a significant challenge that the world faces in the pandemic. There is a need to understand that the betterment of online education opportunities is the only way forward for a long time to come. Therefore, making it more interactive and meaningful is the need of time.
Work From Home Incentives
During the pandemic, those lucky people who could keep working on their previous jobs had to make a quick transition to a work-from-home routine. However, as the intensity of the pandemic seems to be easing out with multiple vaccines brought into the picture, the next challenge is the smooth transition of workers back to the office. With the kids still not going to school and their online education becoming a norm, this transition might be more challenging for parents than one could expect.
Here the essential role of HR comes into the picture as they will be at the forefront of leading this shift of workplace. HR played a massive role in employees’ work transfer to their homes, acting as a liaison between the top management and employees. HR has to work closely to balance the work-life balance of both male and female employees yet again. It is mainly because when at home, gendered boundaries of responsibilities have blurred significantly. A sudden transition without considering a holistic picture can cause stress and ultimately hamper the smooth shift. The companies might think about being lenient to their employees who can still work from home, giving them enough time to sort things out with home and family.
The management has to understand that the pandemic has taken a toll on everyone. Employees working from home has put more effort in the hope of not losing their job. Therefore, their expectation from the management may have amplified considerably. Undue pressure on the employees can be detrimental to the mission of steering the whole organization in the right direction.
Conclusion
No sector of economy or aspect of one’s life remained unaffected due to the pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns and social distancing measures adopted to curb virus spread. The world is faced with unexpected realities such as the unexpected death of loved ones, sudden loss of job, pay cuts, and migration. These challenges require prompt measures with an eye on the long-term future outcome. Thus, the way forward during and after the pandemic entails the capacity to manage organizational change, implement new programs, and develop sustainable strategies. Some of the strategies include developing online education and learning platform, skill development opportunities, and a smooth transition from the home office to the workplace.
