Q: What is it going to look like when stay-at-home orders are lifted and we get to go back to work?
A: I hear this question a lot. And we probably all have a little movie in our heads of what that looks like. The movie will vary depending on whether we work in an office, or a restaurant or a nail salon. In our minds, life looks similar to what it was before. But the truth is –although no one knows– things won’t be the same.
From all I’ve read and listened to, absent a vaccine, here’s how I think it might play out over the next few months:
It will be gradual.
It’s a fantasy to think we are going to have some sort of all-at-once grand opening. Instead, it’s going to start with a trickle. Maybe your favorite restaurant opens for lunch, and limits seating to 15. Or you can get a haircut, but only by appointment and the barber wears a mask and gloves. In a few weeks, maybe the restaurant is serving dinner and seating 30, and the barber is taking walk-ins again, but still wears a mask.
Less density.
Just as grocery stores are now required to have fewer people at one time, so will other business once they open. Restaurants, nail salons, health clubs, medical offices and other public-facing businesses will re-open gradually, increasing density as it makes sense.
Protective practices.
Expect employees, and perhaps customers, to be required to either engage in social distancing, have their temperature monitored, wear a mask and gloves or probably all of the above.
Working from home (WFH) endures.
Employees who can work remotely, will probably continue to do so, or much more than they used to before the pandemic. Employers should anticipate more requests for flexible schedules and to work from home, especially if schools remain closed as they are expected to.
This one is weird and controversial. As more people recover and develop immunity, they might receive some sort of “official clearance” that will allow them to do what other’s without immunity cannot. Chile has started an “immunity passport” allowing those recovered from COVID19 to return back to work. This might create a perverse incentive where some will seek to get infected, on purpose. Not endorsing it, just informing you. The World Health Organization has frowned on this practice.
For a great (and long) article on what the next 18 months might look like, I recommend Googling
The Hammer and the Dance. The Hammer, refers to the lock-down extreme, the Dance is the back-and-forth we’ll have to do as we balance public health and the economy.
Be well, stay safe.
©Copyright Eva Del Rio
Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com
