Dealing with Uncertainty!

Covid-19 vaccines have started to make a positive impact. We must realize it is going to be a long and slow journey before things turn to normalcy. How soon life can return to pre pandemic levels only time will tell. The years 2020/21 will go down in history as the years which saw widespread global disruption. This disruption has shaken every aspect of our lives. It was a big strain on everyone, no matter where you lived. Every economy suffered immensely from the fallout.

Without a doubt, COVID-19 is one of the biggest crises of our times. It has impacted every single human being regardless of how different our living dynamics are or which part of the world we belong to. It has instilled a wave of change in our social system and disrupted economic sectors majorly. However, the silver lining is that we have seen a transformation in technology and innovation. Businesses realized the power of technology and leveraged the internet, automation and remote working, to facilitate their operations and support customers.

This new shift in personal and professional paradigms has transformed everything we will do in the future.  

Firstly, on a personal front, humans have few basic core needs, such as feeling of being loved, appreciated, and having security and assurance about the future. To live a fulfilled and happy life, we need a balance in all areas. Definition of assurance and certainty will vary from person to person, for some it is having a good stable job, quality education, highly desirable skills, good health, support of your family etc. During this ongoing pandemic, for the first time, most people of my generation felt uncertain about the future.

Now many argue that the Covid situation has only affected underprivileged people. However, this cannot be further from the truth. Even though I agree that people living on daily wages were majorly affected, however at the same time people who were financially stable felt emotional pain and uncertainty regarding their lives during the pandemic. Imagine being in the grocery store and constantly fear about contracting a virus that could put your life in jeopardy. This is a terrifying feeling that none of us felt before the pandemic.

Before the crisis, most of us were preoccupied working hard at our jobs, businesses, improving our skills, financial situations and were indifferent toward everything else. This pandemic has been a reset for many individuals who were living their lives like a robot. The psychological and physical consequences of the COVID crisis will last a lifetime. The real question is, how are we going to deal with this while keeping our lives on track. How can you bounce back from this crisis and stay positive?

Many devastating incidents occurred as a result of this ongoing pandemic; list is unfortunately very long. Some of these incidents included the deaths of millions of people, the closure of businesses, and several suicides. Nobody will ever recover a human tragedy. However, we can recover financial losses if we maintain a positive attitude. We must prepare ourselves for success as we deal with this harsh reality of our lives. We must have confidence and conviction that, like the previous disasters, we will eventually resolve this as well. Progress can be measured by how we prepare ourselves emotionally, psychologically, and physically.

As policymakers struggle with lockdown policies, reopening economies and companies are analyzing the additional overhead costs . The sudden shock of the lockdown had a significant effect on the people suffering from the crisis. Nearly 27% of manufacturing executives felt digitalization was a priority before 2020. However, this figure has nearly doubled to 46%. Similarly, the number of executives prioritizing digital transitions grew by double digits in the retail industry.

Since the global pandemic compelled employers worldwide to enable remote work, digital advancements and robust wireless connectivity have become more relevant than ever. According to research, more than nine out of ten companies now consider digital transformation a top priority. This is not just because of work from home but also because of the massive disruption faced by industries across the board.

In retrospect, 2020 will probably be known as the year when a society took a major leap forward in digitalization. I work in the digital and telecom sector. We had access to information technology tools for remote meetings for years, such as Zoom, Skype, etc. However, we never leveraged these tools the way we did during this pandemic. The pandemic has forced and paved the way for new technical solutions. This is bound to save companies a lot of money.

During this pandemic, businesses, both large and small, and governments had to completely change their operations. We have these tools at our disposal, and technology helped us manage this dramatic shift. Once the pandemic started, our kids transitioned to virtual methods of teaching. These new methods include blackboard resuming their role in our children’s education, Zoom turning into our business boardroom, or Netflix being our night out at the movies. In the end, we depended on technology to help feed our families, teach our children, collaborate with co-workers, and even entertain ourselves after yet another day in the house. Since this pandemic has started, I have attended online Christmas parties, weddings, and birthdays. Who would have thought this was possible?

If you view this from a technology standpoint, 2020/21 accelerated our shift in the digital world, and I believe that we won’t go back any time soon once this pandemic is over. Thanks to this sudden acceleration in digital transformation, 2021 and beyond will be a Launchpad for various changes.

It’s absolutely critical to reevaluate, reassess our goals and prepare for a future once we face a massive disruption or natural disaster. Many people may have seen setbacks or hard stops; the most important thing is to keep going. Workers lost their jobs faster than in previous years due to automation and a global downturn in demand, largely due to companies closing down. In the United States alone, there were millions of unemployed workers during this pandemic. If the division of labor between humans, computers, and algorithms continues to change, millions of jobs worldwide are at risk of being lost. On a more optimistic note, millions of new jobs will be generated in developing industries.

According to recent studies, one out of every six jobs will be replaced by a robot or automation in the next five years. And 1 in 2 employees would need new skills, and for those remaining in current roles, 40% of their skills will need to be updated to adapt to changing labor market.

Again, no machine can replace humans’ intellect, Passion and Enthusiasm, unless they want to be replaced by themselves. Human capital is the most precious asset for companies. There is already a tremendous shortage of highly skilled people -some of the roles which will flourish in the future, especially in the Information technology, data sciences, business, and digital marketing areas, to name a few.

This is the most interesting time where we not only have to deal with current ongoing challenges but at the same time prepare for the future. We must learn to deal with uncertainty, prioritize personal and professional goals and have the courage to pursue them.