10 Good News Stories From 2020 ... You Might Have Missed — TECH AND WORK Newsletter #11

Happy holidays, all! For the final issue of a very difficult year, I thought I’d switch up the format a bit. This was without a doubt one of the most challenging years in memory for so many, on a societal level and on individual levels. With vaccines already being distributed, I’m sure we’re all ready to welcome in 2021 and be done with 2020. 

Having said that, it’s not hard to find value from the last year — in terms of the evolution of the way we work, the technology we use, the relationships we’ve cultivated and the resilience we’ve called upon. With that in mind, I wanted to share 10 good news story lines from the world of work and technology over the past year that I think are worth celebrating. If you’ve got your own good news stories/positive takeaways from 2020, please comment below or join the conversation here.   

Top 10 Good News Tech And Work Stories Of 2020 

We proved that remote work works For hundreds of years, people worked in offices. Then in early March that all changed, nearly overnight. Doom and gloom forecasts abounded: companies would have to close down; employees couldn’t be trusted; IRL could never be replicated. Well, you know what? In many respects, we proved them wrong. My company, like so many others, made the jump to remote work and never looked back. Businesses everywhere have killed commutes and cancelled costly leases, while sustaining productivity and employee satisfaction. Remote work isn’t viable for everyone, and it may work best in a hybrid form, but … wow … we’ve found an entirely new way to do our jobs. And everyone deserves a huge slap on the back for that. 

We found viable alternatives to traditional learning models It’s no secret that higher education is prohibitively costly in the U.S. and elsewhere. The average student earning a four-year degree leaves with more than $30,000 in debt. A lot of that has to do with paying for housing, food and travel, not to mention sustaining the physical infrastructure of large universities, from classrooms to dining halls. During Covid, however, we discovered that we can pretty much make do without all that. Though there’s a learning curve, colleges and students are acclimating to a leaner, more flexible and more efficient mode of online instruction. At the same time, standalone online courses have exploded in popularity, reflecting the reality that how we learn has evolved. It’s my hope that we see more experimentation and streamlining of higher ed in the years ahead. 

We showed that global mobilization in the face of crisis is possible No one’s going to say that the global response to Covid was anywhere near perfect. But here’s the thing that’s easy to overlook: on a national and international level, countries found a way to plan, cooperate and take action, on everything from travel to lockdowns to health protocol. Faced with an immediate threat, we responded as a civilization. I think this has vast implications for the larger threat on humanity’s doorstep: climate change. To meet emission thresholds outlined by climate scientists requires concerted international effort. There’s now a precedent to show that’s possible. Moreover, the environmental renewal triggered by the global reduction in travel and traffic indicates how quickly the planet can rebound, if we’re committed to action.  

We confronted systemic racism This year people around the world actively wrestled with a terrible legacy that continues to poison society and harm so many individuals: systemic racism. The George Floyd murder and subsequent protests have opened the eyes of an entire generation to how pervasive racism remains and how far we have to go. The reach and impact of the Black Lives Matter movement under exceptionally difficult circumstances is surely one of the most important and uplifting stories not simply of 2020 but in recent history. Global protests, widespread police reform, profound changes in boardrooms, hundreds of millions of voices mobilized on social media — and this is just the start. Let’s ensure the momentum for change that gathered in 2020 continues to build into concrete action.  

We saw science triumph As I’m writing this, millions of doses of Covid vaccines are being distributed in countries around the world. Estimates predict that within months we can build the herd immunity required to stop this pandemic in its tracks. I think it’s worth stopping to appreciate how incredible this is and the feat of science that made it possible. Vaccines are often years, if not decades, in development. But a concerted push by scientists around the world compressed that to less than a year. Especially in an atmosphere where mistrust and misinformation abound, this is such a resounding affirmation of the power of the scientific method and rational analysis — those incredible Enlightenment-Era legacies that still represent humanity’s greatest tools and allies.   

We embraced the art of self-management I think we all discovered we’re a whole lot tougher, more resilient and more adaptable than we thought, this year. But to those skills, I’d like to add another important one: we’ve mastered self-management. Absent the office context, absent the ordinary rhythms and routines of normal life, we’ve had to learn to manage the most trying of people — ourselves. We’ve tapped into inner wells of self-motivation and self-direction. We’ve learned the systems and processes that work (and don’t work) for us, when it comes to work and family. I think this is both an amazing feat and so important for the future. In fact, the most recent World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report lists self-management skills such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility as the most in-demand jobs skills — right alongside more familiar aptitudes like critical thinking, problem solving and creativity.

We saw the digital economy shift into high gear At the outset of the crisis in March, serious storm clouds were gathering across the tech world. Airbnb announced widespread layoffs; tech companies everywhere tightened belts in anticipation of a downturn. And then, nearly the exact opposite happened. The crisis compressed years of digital adoption and transformation into the span of a few months. We saw with striking vividness how central digital tools — from Zoom and Slack to Shopify and TikTok — are to the future of how we work, study and interact. The result has been a year of record growth and investment, successful IPOs, and huge M&As in the technology space. Airbnb ended up seeing its value skyrocket more than 120% in its December IPO, and tech growth has propelled the S&P 500 to record heights in the midst of the crisis. While these gains have definitely not flowed directly from Wall Street to Main Street, and a serious unemployment crisis remains, the underlying (and unexpected) strength of the economy is an absolute good news story this year.  

We modeled universal basic income, and showed it can work Andrew Yang’s proposal for universal basic income — a $1,000 per month payout to all citizens over the age of 18 in response to job displacement from automation — was widely derided during the 2020 campaign cycle as pie-in-the-sky. But the stimulus packages deployed around the world during the crisis look an awful lot like UBI, just under a different name. And they’re working. As AI and machine learning advances, disruptions in the labor market are inevitable. We need a mechanism in place to assure that people are provided for and the economy continues to function. UBI provides one viable answer. Now’s the time to start addressing questions on how to sustainably fund these programs, including a possible robot tax.  

We saw the power of buying local Online shopping has been a lifeline during Covid, but another retail trend has also gained critical momentum: buying local. The crisis has had a direct impact on the restaurants, shops, and stores in our neighborhoods. We’ve seen up close how critical these local institutions are and how much they need our support. And buying habits are beginning to shift as a result, away from impersonal online marketplaces and toward SMBs and hometown retailers. A recent American Express poll showed three-quarters of people are more determined to shop local than in the past. Meanwhile, powered by tools like Shopify and social media, more local businesses than ever are growing an online footprint and embracing digital tools to reach an audience in their own backyard and beyond. 

We spent more time with the people who matter most My daughter is soon to turn two years old. Since this crisis started, I’ve been able to spend nearly every single day with her — all day, everyday. Pre-Covid, I would have been in the office all day and on the go to countless conferences around the world — and missed out on one of the most important stages of her life, learning to talk and walk and discover the world around her. That’s just such an incredible upside to the craziness of the past year. Now, I know family time can bring challenges, too, especially when everyone is living, working and studying at home. And I also know that lots of us are staying distanced from loved ones right now. But it’s not going out on a limb to say that 2020 has made us all reflect deeply on how important and irreplaceable time with family is. I think we’ll carry the lessons and legacy of this long after the pandemic is over — I know I will. 

Have a safe holiday, everyone, and an amazing New Year! A huge thanks for reading and supporting my new newsletter this year — we’re now a family of nearly 30,000 subscribers and growing. If there are topics you’d like to see covered in future, or if you’ve got more good news stories from 2020, please let me know below or join the conversation here.  And please tell your colleagues to subscribe here. Until next time!