Hate What COVID Did To Business? Here’s How To Love It.

The pandemic gave the business world a few incredible gifts. If you didn’t receive them yet, take them from this article.

I know, I know, you’re sick of this pandemic. So am I.

And I’m an introvert.

WHO predicts that it will take at least two years to control the coronavirus.

What this means is that you need to accept that this virus has become a part of our life.

If you haven’t already, you have to get used to it. You have to embrace the cliched “new normal”. Ugh.

Having said that, there are a few spectacular changes I’m seeing in the corporate world. All as a direct result of the pandemic.

For instance. People are finally working from home.

FINALLY.

Not to brag but at TSKC we’ve been working from home long before the pandemic was a thing. With shorter working hours, too.

Yes, I know, I bragged.

Before the pandemic, I loved to moan about meetings that could’ve been emails. Why people print something only to sign and stamp it and then scan it again. Why more companies don’t use Google Docs.

Then the lockdowns happened. It forced organizations to change.

And I had to find other things to whinge about.

Here’s a list of all those incredible changes. If your company hasn’t adopted most or all these, now’s your chance.

Automate

I love my digital helpers- Slack, Trello, Zoho Books, Mailbird, and of course, Zoom.

Okay. Google Meet. I hate Zoom.

You don’t need to waste time organizing and doing work that a bot can do.

Find out which apps and bots work for your organization. Some of them have a subscription model. But most offer a free trial period. Try them out for free and see what’s worth paying for.

Working From Home

TSKC has always been a WFH model. We rented a workspace in 2018 but in October 2019, we gave it up. Most of us us were working from home anyway.

Come March 2020, we were glad we did.

Most companies now realize that having the flexibility to work from home increases productivity and happiness.

No one likes to be stuck in traffic, answering calls and emails on their blackberry.

People have different times for when they’re most productive.

It helps introverts (or anyone who prefers to work alone) work better.

Hey, it’s also great for taking naps. You’re your most creative when you’re relaxed. Same for your people.

Because we’re such social animals, offices will never completely go away. But it’s great to have the choice to work from home. It’s wonderful that companies here finally realized that this option exists.

The end of 9 to 5

I remember the time I would have to drive 20 minutes to the office on a Friday to send one email. Thank the Gods of Technology that now we have a palm-sized computer that we carry around with us all day.

Technology has shortened the time it takes for so many things. The advent of a free messaging platform- WhatsApp- slashed our dependence on mails.

Work has never been faster. What was getting done in 8 hours now takes half the time.

At TSKC we work from 9 am to 3 pm. Six hours are more than enough. The team doesn’t have strict rules about their working hours and don’t need to punch in time cards.

It’s ironic that they work longer. Because they’re so relaxed.

I hope the new normal means businesses in this region realizing the uselessness of 8 full hours. Punching time cards and deducting late minutes from employees’ salaries makes them frustrated. And in today’s high-speed-internet-world, it’s not needed.

What’s the point of sitting in your chair from one 9–5 when you could be getting a whole lot done at another time?

One day we even see businesses mandate a 4-day workweek. We definitely want to move toward that at TSKC.

Going paperless

I’m ecstatic to see more companies embrace digitization in one key area — paperwork. More and more companies are using online signatures and stamps. And organizations are doing bank transfers instead of issuing checks.

The best part about this? It reduces paper waste.

Plus you don’t waste time in organizing stacks of paper in ugly box folders. Which you have to then organize in bulky cabinets.

A paperless world is a beautiful, minimalist paradise.

Spending more time with family

The pandemic gave everyone more family time. It made people realize they can work from home, where their loved ones are.

You can conduct meetings from your living room and then take a break by playing with your kids. You can hug your pet when work gets too stressful.

No more slogging away for 16 hours at the office and coming home too weary to talk to your partner.

The lockdown made us realize you don’t have to choose between work and family. You can have a much better work-life balance. Or even more me-time than time spent working.

And I love that. Don’t you?

Work from anywhere in the world

Before, you thought that working with a freelancer in Florida would be impossible. Now you know it’s not.

Lockdowns everywhere proved it. You can stay in the same city, not meet your colleagues and still get work done. Which means you can work from wherever you are in the world.

Remote work has finally stepped into the big bright spotlight.

This opens up so many possibilities for businesses. You can have vendors, suppliers, clients and even staff all over the world.

The advantage? The variety of skill you get.

It’s impossible to find all the talent you want within the same country. With remote work, you can access talent from everywhere in the world.

We work with professionals from the UAE, Indonesia, Serbia and India. We love the uniqueness all these amazing people bring to the table.

Business has indeed become global. Use that to your advantage.

Social distancing makes for patient customers

Have you noticed how people are more patient when standing in queues? We just stand in silence two metres away from the other person and wait our turn.

Isn’t it glorious?

I hope the new normal is that we keep this newfound patience. Once we find a vaccine, we don’t go back to being in a stranger’s personal space. To jumping up as soon as the airplane lands and pushing the person in front of you. (I’m not sure if this still happens, I haven’t flown anywhere since the pandemic).

There’s a teeny tiny chance that social distancing has made us a more polite and patient society.

If we look at all these ways in which COVID has affected the business world, it’s positive. (Pun intended).

Forcing traditional companies to make full use of digital solutions available. Making remote work more common place. WFH becoming a thing.

Providing the most value to your clients by working with people all over the world. And learning a thing or two from other cultures and working styles.

Last, breaking free from the trap of glorifying productivity.

What do you think?