Post-COVID

Post-COVID, life was supposed to get easier - we had onboarded AI and remote working/learning, embraced delivery services.....but we are finding it really has not got easier. Several reasons - here are a few (not in order of any priority).

(1) lack of job security - I have heard so many young people from around the world worry about things like - will they have a job, should they take a loan to buy a home, or should they have kids. We need to manage job protection better despite technology's ability to make profits or be more efficient - this is about a fundamental human right - the right to work.

(2) no separation between home and work life - COVID was an exceptional circumstance and so work and learning followed us home. However, most families do not have an office space (or several rooms and devices for every member of the family) hence remote work/learning also leads to fatigue simply as you do not have a place to disconnect (unless very rich). Further I see very few HR policies where employees are paid extra for working at home (to invest in WiFi, consumables, ergonomic chairs or headsets, etc).

(3) social anxiety and depressions - we are social beings and connecting online is not the same as meeting people physically or running outdoors (as opposed to indoors). We need more research on how to equip ourselves for a healthy balance and create communities based on proximity rather than virtual similarities. Once upon a time, your neighbour was your first point of call in times of emergency!

(4) digital divide - the world is now divided into those who have the luxury of remote working and those who do not. How do we treat the category of people who cannot work remotely and are critical for daily life to go on? We need better policies in place.

(5) Cities suffer the most in this especially if they don't have enough spaces for relaxing - green spaces are the best and a healthy city has energising green spaces for children to play, families to get together and for walking a few minutes from home. These spaces do not need to be large (New York has many tiny gardens and benches) - these spaces are much needed for city cooling and for the life (sort of urban acupuncture).

(6) angst - it is easy to get riled up as social media rarely has only uplifting things to say and news seems to follow this direction. How can we reduce angst and create a more healthy, happy, supportive news environment. Yes, so much is wrong in the world - but so much is also good. And this comes to resilience strategies - we need to be teaching them to youngsters so they can cope better as they grow up to be adults.

(7) technology as an enabler not a crutch - we need to look at tech as an enabler of human potential and that also means first you need to know what you are capable of ....so first explore your humanness and your own intelligence and then figure out how and where and when tech fits in. Do not overlook the importance of experience.