Saji Rajasekaran
Apart from the tremendous number of lives lost and the huge impact on several industries and jobs, COVID-19 has caused a lot of pain and distress. However, it has also shined light on a few areas that we can hope will see a positive impact, short-term or long-term.
Mother Earth – Less people commuting, less aircraft’s in the air and less cars on the road means cleaner air, at least in the short-term.
Healthcare Policies – Could the delays in tests, lack of enough infrastructure to screen and poor emergency management procedures hopefully drive a debate in changing our healthcare policies for the better?
Focusing on the family – People are spending more time with family. This could be good or bad, I guess, but the shutdown has afforded many families time to be around each more than ever.
Better hygiene and better eating habits – Will this experience, at least temporarily help teach our generation to have better hygiene and help build better eating habits?
E-Learning – Could this experience provide the experience needed to make e-learning more acceptable and potentially make University education cheaper in the long-term?
Internet infrastructure – Teleworking and e-learning will stretch the internet bandwidth in homes and neighborhoods; Will this prompt the industry to speed up their investment in better hi-speed infrastructure?
Increased investment in poorer countries – The awareness that borders don’t quite stop viruses or the associated economic meltdowns in an increasingly connected world, hopefully changes the way developed countries treat poorer countries.
Growth in specific industries – Should we expect a growth spurt for cashless transactions, online grocery shopping/delivery, tele-medicine, and community based organic farming?
About the author:
Saji is a father to 2 kids, Executive, and figuring out how to make more time to do things he wants to do; in that order. He has 20 years of experience leading successful teams in various industry domains and holds a Masters in Business Administration from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.