‘Focus on the positive changes taking place’

Growth, aggression, GDP, CAGR, itinerary, prospective clients -- some of the most commonly used words in our daily working environments – are not being heard so often now. For long, a probable nuclear war was reckoned as the worst that could happen to mankind, until a microscopic force of nature from a wet market in Wuhan changed that global viewpoint forever.

Today, the oft brushed aside words like family time, community, patience, passion, and learnings have assumed new meanings. The lockdown has brought about a significant change in our interaction with our immediate surrounding, our nature of interaction, mode of communication and media consumption habits.

So, the question is, with so many changes happening in such a short period of time, what does the future hold for us. Yes, a short period of gloom but doom definitely not.

Let’s look at the positive changes that are happening. The place of work is no more a constraint. Informal settings for conducting formal discussion are not an issue anymore. We have digitally shortened the usual concept of time and space with greater efficiency and effectivity.

We are becoming more collaborative. Suddenly our thirst for learning has pushed the boundaries. The humane side of our everyday existence has taken precedence. The fear of the unknown is definitely changing the way we conserve and protect our resources -- be they manpower, finances, data, etc.

There’s a positive shift toward achieving work-life balance. We will no longer underestimate the resilience and patience of our children who have fought this lockdown more bravely than the adults.

What will not change is the human race’s insatiable chase for growth. That has what kept this human race going in spite of facing plagues, world wars, financial meltdowns and now this pandemic. On one hand we witness the huge crater caused by the event and simultaneously we have already started the process of filling it and will create a peak in the foreseeable future.

(The views expressed in this column are personal and not necessarily those of Platinum OOH)