As we settle into quarantine life and dream of the day we all emerge from our homes to embrace one another, we foresee some possibly permanent changes to the way we live.
The internet is full of forecasters predicting which elements of our new way of life will remain long after the pandemic has subsided. Who knows for sure but we thought we would throw our hats in the soothsayer ring.
We definitely see some of the skills we are mastering now around telecommuting weaving their way into our daily lives moving forward. Many of us have cracked the code on how to curate our video conference call backdrops and master our mute buttons. We think both employees and employers will have broken some sort of sound barrier on remote work and will be more open to it moving forward.
Grocery delivery may drop once we can race to the supermarket and eat those free samples at Trader Joe’s, but some level of delivery will likely remain, at least around key events in our lives, like busy work times or when the garden variety cold hits (will we ever be able to have a common cold again without panicking?).
In the realm of healthcare, we hope telehealth is another change that will stay and expand. Having the ability to reach providers with great flexibility seems like it ushers in a better, healthier world. We also foresee an extension of the TSA (or THA, if you will) where temperature reads become part of screening prior to boarding a plane.
Some of our other predictions are somewhat wish based.
As traffic has decreased, skies have cleared and Venetian canals have again welcomed sea life. Nature has been one of our biggest balms in this time of crisis, but it has also become one of the biggest winners. We hope that this collective momentum and awareness of our interconnectedness translates into permanent climate change action. Our impact on the earth is no longer in question.
We also hope the intensified appreciation for caregivers becomes permanent. Our culture systematically undervalues those who give care—nurses, teachers, stay-at-home parents, family members caring for an elderly relative. Often many of these jobs are held by women. This crisis has put a spotlight on these roles that do not get the attention, appreciation, or pay that they deserve. We hope that once the pot clanging and parades to honor nurses fade some permanent culture shift takes place that values the stay-at-home parent as much as the one making big career strides.
We also hope that some of the spotlight on health inequalities overall becomes a permanent part of our conversation around social justice. The death rates among Black communities have brought to the foreground the complex causes for this imbalance in death tolls—all of which point to continued inequalities in our country in terms of access to care (especially unbiased care), access to fresh, healthy food, access to economic equality and more.
Regardless of which of our predictions holds true as we emerge from our stockpiled homes, we hope that many of our predictions for a more just and caring society hold true.
As we move from pandemic to endemic, where the virus as part of society simply becomes a way of life, we may become accustomed to wearing masks every time we have to make a trip to the bank or the dry cleaners or a fast-food restaurant. It seems foreign and possibly unnecessary, but certain change is imminent.
There are great implications for commercial, retail, and residential architecture, existing and future. As businesses reevaluate human resources, telecommuting, and essential versus non-essential expenses, the vast amount of dollars spent on costly overhead in leasing acres of space may come under much finer scrutiny.
Home offices and playrooms are more in demand than ever. Will that impact home design? Will sound-proofing in the walls become more of a thing as we attempt to shelter our business calls from the mayhem happening in the next room?
Deeper pantries and wider refrigerators could also be a consideration, giving families the capacity to stockpile even more, ensuring our viability for months at a time without the risk of swapping germs with others.
Distance learning and online curricula have suddenly skyrocketed for students at all levels—grade school, middle school, high school, college level, and even lifelong learners streaming lessons on platforms like Masterclass, Lynda.com, Skillshare, and even YouTube. Are giant lecture halls with one shared projection screen necessary or can it all be done from afar—from the comfort and safety of our own homes?
Several weeks into quarantining, the National Emergency Library provided over a million titles for free. Celebrities, including Dolly Parton and LeVar Burton, returned to reading books online to children. Streaming-content consumption has shot through the roof, as has the creation of homemade content.
For musicians, the living room concert, once eschewed as lowbrow and unrefined, has now become industry standard. No makeup? No fancy clothes? No problem.
On the flip side to all that’s been enabled by technology, there’s been a notable return to all things analog. Families have been sharing more meals together and prepping them in the kitchen in harmony. Walks and bike rides have become everyday occurrences for the health-minded and those simply looking to maintain their sanity and avoid going stir-crazy.