Let’s Not Pretend That Normal Was Working For Everyone

By now, most of us have felt the chill breath of coronavirus. It could be via a couple of degrees of separation because a friend or a friend of a friend has had someone pass away. It could be because someone we know or we ourselves have lost jobs or income. Or it could simply be participating in the global experience of lockdown, quarantine, and phased “recovery”.

One thing that’s on many people’s minds is when will we get back to normal? But my question is, should we get back to normal? Because let’s not pretend that normal was working for everyone.

Examining Inequity

One thing that’s become quickly apparent are the inequities in daily life in countries big and small. For example, the island nation where I live, which has a population of just over a quarter of a million people, is generally considered one of the most stable and connected places in the region. But there are still many people without access to infrastructure and the technology that many of us take for granted.

Take online education. Like everyone else, our government and educational institutions are pushing ahead with this. But there are people who don’t have an internet connection or data plan, and don’t have a computer. Even in connected households, there may only be a single connected device. If you’ve got multiple children needing to attend different classes, and also need to work at home yourself, you are — to use a Britishism — completely stuffed. The pandemic has revealed that there’s a technology divide which in-person classes were hiding. But in a technological world, those who aren’t familiar with the technology they’ll need for work will be at a disadvantage. Pandemic or not, this needs to change.

Or we could talk about delivery services, which are popping up everywhere. Interesting how the businesses that could never be bothered now find themselves having to offer this much requested service in order to survive. But that’s not the point. The point is that many people can’t afford to pay extra to have food delivered, especially with falling income and disappearing jobs.

New Ways of Working

The old normal wasn’t working for the introverts forced into a largely extroverted culture. If you’re running a company, you might be surprised that your introverted employees who are now at home are more productive than ever. Trust me, open plan offices really don’t work. And many people, whether introverted or extroverted, are finding the increased flexibility of being able to plan their own days worthwhile. That’s a change that needs to be permanent, in my view.

Companies are discovering that that meeting really could have been an email. And that meetings don’t have to be as long and rambling as they were. They discovered that a lot can be accomplished using technology without the need to be in the same room. It’s not perfect, but it can work, and I think it’s better in many ways than the old system (ok, that might be a personal view, lol).

In a world where you need to be at home and online, is the old normal of paying through the nose for internet speed really justified? I don’t think so. I don’t know what the solution is, but there has to be one that allows everyone to have the access they need at a reasonable price. Plus (my own pet peeve), it actually needs to be always on and always working, just like water and electricity).

And then there are the companies that are clearly operating on a shoestring. I have no problem with helping out businesses — small businesses — which the owners have built upwith their own hands, but should large corporations which generate billions in profits begetting bailouts while people are still starving? Seems pretty immoral to me. That’s another part of the old normal we need to examine and change.

There have been examples of enterprise and creativity that would not have had the chance to flourish had we been operating in the old way. People have started cottage industries making masks which more and more people are likely to have to wear. In person stores have pivoted to offer delivery and some have made a really good job of it. Many of us hope that this will continue after quarantine restrictions lift.

But there are still issues to solve. Where I live, other inequities have become apparent. How are we to stay inside when we are not a cashless society? How can our banking system be brought into the 21st century so that benefits can be put on cards and so that everything can be paid online? This is not something new — it’s out there in many parts of the world and should already be here.

Questions About a More Equitable Future

So while I look forward to being able to visit my favorite coffee shop or go out for a meal with family, I also hope that we won’t be back to normal afterwards. I hope we will take on board the lessons we’ve learned about what’s working and what’s not and move forward together to a more equitable society.

I should say that I hope against hope because in many cases too many people are invested in keeping the old system running even if it isn’t working for everyone. But isn’t this a wake up call that there are new ways of doing things? Isn’t it noteworthy that our planet is able to breathe? Shouldn’t we see how we can bridge the gap between the old normal and a new normal that works better for everyone? I don’t know exactly what this will look like but shouldn’t we at least try?

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