The past year has been a tumultuous one for many of us. The coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic has seen governments around the world implement social distancing and social isolation guidelines, with many cities and even countries going into lockdown and shelter in place situations. With many of us being encouraged to stay home as much as possible, businesses of all shapes and sizes have experienced a huge – and largely negative impact. Many have collapsed. Many have had no choice but to make staff redundant. Those who have been able to continue have had to adopt whole new ways of working that allow staff to do their jobs without risking the spread of the virus. So, as vaccines are being rolled out and many of us are hoping to get our day to day lives back on track, we have to ask ourselves- has Covid changed East Coast businesses for good?
Common Changes and Will They Continue?
Some common changes that many businesses have experienced have revolved around ensuring that staff can work without coming into close contact with other staff and other members of the public. They have also changed largely around Covid hygiene. Some common alterations include the below.
Remote Work
Staff who are able to work from home have, largely, been working from home. Can we expect this to change? Well, this depends entirely on the company and its individual circumstances. Some businesses have struggled to remain profitable with a remote workforce. These tend to be businesses that require face to face interaction, such as restaurants who have only been able to offer delivery services. However, some businesses have found that remote work has benefited their company and employees. Many office jobs have found that having a remote workforce has proven equally productive while cutting out expensive rental costs and overheads. Of course, remote work does require some help, such as that of IT Services in New Jersey. Cybercriminals are aware that, without support, remote workers can be easier targets. So, it’s growing increasingly important for businesses to invest in cybersecurity and IT options.
Socially Distanced Premises
At the moment, many of us are being encouraged to stay six feet apart from one another. This means stores have added perspex barriers between staff and customers at pay points, individuals in commercial premises have perspex barriers between their desks, and tools such as social distancing floor stickers have been put in place. Hopefully, this isn’t a permanent change. While this change is necessary for the moment, we are aiming for vaccines to prove successful and for people to be able to work and spend time in closer proximity to one another in the near future.
Of course, many businesses have implemented further changes as a result of the pandemic. But hopefully, some of the above information has helped to highlight what changes are likely to be permanent and which may change.