Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst

You remember the beginning of the pandemic?

I know it was quite some time ago, but I remember it pretty well as it was the very beginning of a paradigm shift. Changing world, full of uncertainty, fear and disinformation as a reaction to something unknown, which has never happened before...

It was not only about Covid, vaccines, tests of health systems falling all over the world...

It was end of January 2020, when I was planning a journey to Malaysia with my friends. The pandemic was just starting in Asia, news were coming to Europe. People from work were telling me not to bring Covid when I am back to Poland. I was smiling not knowing what Covid is and how it will impact our lives in the long run. Being in a plane from Singapore to Penang me and my friend were the only Europeans and the only people without masks. It was funny for me when my neighbour in a plane brought me a wet napkin and asked whether I want to use it to clean my armchair. Little did I know at that time about what is going to happen next.

A bit over a month after my trip to Asia, pandemic started to hit Europe and it was hitting us hard. It was crazy at that time. People not allowed to leave their homes, problems with finding basic necessities in the shops and such absurds as parks, beaches and forests being closed and those, who didn't follow the rules were getting fines.

Pandemic impacted the way world used to function. In March and April it was not only people who were afraid, governments who were uncertain of the next moves, but also companies which introduced hiring freezes, blocking budgets for non core projects and firing people. I remember the times when scrolling Linkedin every 3rd post was titled "looking for work".

It was one of the "ordinary" Thursdays at work, when 30% of the company where I used to work was fired via zoom call. "You will get the information about who will leave the company by the end of the day". IT Job market suddenly shifted into the space where companies started to have more decision power than employees. Companies started to have enormous negotiation power dictating the rules, picking the best people available.

After a few months it started to come back to normal. In IT at least. Organisations started to understand that it's all temporary, there is nothing to be afraid of. Many of them (including Zoom, InPost, Peloton Interactive, DocuSign) started to see it as an opportunity, rather than a threat) Share prises were going crazy. Demand for professionals in Tech became higher than supply. Much higher than before. People started to dictate their rules again. Remote work approach flurished.

2 years later, Pandemic seems to be over. Life got back to the normal and we can live it to the full. Can't we?

Unfortunately it seems that it was just the beginning and we haven't been served the dessert yet... So what do we have here?

War in Ukraine?

Sky high inflation?

China Covid outbreak in the phase of "Present continuous"

Or maybe Monkeypox?

All in our menu!

How it's already impacting us? One of the Fintech unicorns, Klarna is cutting 10% of the workforce. Grocery Delivery startup Gorillas announced 300 job cuts in their Berlin office. One of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms Coinbase is laying 18% of the stuff. Elon Musk wants to cut 10% of Tesla jobs.

Talking with company executives from all over the world, many of them tell me about current hiring freeze in their organisations. How long will it last? Nobody knows.

What can you do now? If you still don't have a contingency plan, it's still not too late to think of creating one. Observe the situation carefully. Threats may create opportunities. Redefine your priorities. What is really a must do, to survive the crisis? Think about your current processes. What can be done better? It may not be the best time for growth, but it may be the best time to work on internal improvements, cutting the costs while becoming closer with your partners supporting each other (we are in the same boat together)

What's going to happen next? Time will tell. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride as it may teach you a lot making you stronger than ever before.