The Permanent Positive Disruptions Caused by COVID-19

When the pandemic began, the world that we once knew completely changed and we faced uncertainty head-on.?

Many of us had to re-learn our daily routines as life slowed down to a speed that we never thought possible. We were virtually (no pun intended) doing the exact same thing as before -- just differently.?

And, in most cases, that “differently” wasn’t a short-term solution. Instead, almost two years later as we’re trying to make a move back toward what we think of as normalcy, it seems many of the disruptions caused by COVID-19 are here to stay. I think that is a good thing.?

Here are a few noteworthy changes and adaptations we’ve made throughout the pandemic that seem permanent -- many of which I’ve seen firsthand at The University of Tulsa.

More Understanding and Adaptable

If you were in an important business meeting in the year 2019 and your co-worker, Tracy, suddenly stood up and walked out of the room, it would have turned heads. Presumably, most people would probably wonder if Tracy is ok, while others might be annoyed that Tracy left with no warning.

Today, that’s far from the case. We’ve grown accustomed to people falling out of Zoom calls, audio failing, screens freezing mid-conversation, kids and dogs in the background and even wifi problems disrupting important events.?

This has made me more understanding and adaptable.? It has caused me to stop and remember that people aren’t just my work colleagues--they have full lives, important to their overall wellbeing. I consider it a stark reminder that we can only control so much and we’re all doing the best we can. That said, the expectations will increase as technology improves.

While the initial changes felt like uncharted waters, we’ve all seen benefits that can come from these new perspectives.?

More Lifestyle Options

Before 2020, remote jobs were nowhere nearly as prevalent as they are today.

Thankfully, lots of great business research came from the pandemic -- many of which is just now being published. We’ve seen studies that show working from home doesn’t negatively impact productivity in ways that many employers would have presumed. In our city, Tulsa Remote has brought people from around the globe to work in Tulsa.??

For example, a ConnectSolutions study found that 77% of those who work remotely at least a few times per month show increased productivity, with 30% doing more work in less time.

This largely dispels the myths that more distractions at home could derail efficiency.?

And now that we know WFH (working from home) is a viable option for businesses, it’s become a viable option for other parts of life too, including school! More hybrid classes are being offered to give students a choice of learning in class or remotely.? While I don’t believe the social aspects of gathering in-person to develop the important social bonds in education and work that bind our community together can ever be replaced, we can learn anytime, anywhere in various modalities.?

In other words, COVID has shown us that we can work and learn from anywhere that best fits our lifestyle and needs.?

Connecting from Afar

Many activities and events we formerly did in-person have developed virtual alternatives. This includes conferences, which have skyrocketed in attendance thanks to the remote offering eliminating travel costs while increasing convenience. In fact, TU’s Conference of Accountants was held online this year for the first time.? We can comfortably interact with people from around the world in our classrooms.?

Telehealth is another good example of this. While there will always be some health issues you need to see a doctor in-person for, telehealth is a great alternative for many common illnesses or ailments. You still get professional care while exposing fewer people to your potential infection.?

Whether it’s a conference, doctor’s trip, a class or even a concert, digital and virtual offerings have changed the way we think about connecting to swap ideas and information.

More Proactive

Finally, it seems we’ve all become more proactive.

People didn’t expect the pandemic to arise -- that’s not something many companies or educational institutions work into a five-year plan, after all -- so most were caught off-guard by the dramatic change in the way the world worked. We all had to adapt and learn on the fly.

It seems the mindset has stuck. We’re doing a lot better at considering the “what if” scenarios and making plans for them: What if we have to go remote again for some reason? What will we do then?

Having the rug pulled out from under us once has left us more proactive and thoughtful.

What’s next?

Humans are a resilient bunch. While we didn’t anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic derailing so much of our lives, we learned from it and even improved the way we did things on many levels (although the tragic losses along the way cannot be overlooked or forgotten).

As we move to the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, we’re worried less about getting back to normal and focused more, instead, on creating a new, more flexible normal that helps support a healthy, balanced and productive life.?