Whenever we emerge from the viral attack on the global economic system, business will never be the same again

Where will businesses stand in a post-Coronavirus world? Even as countries make plans to extend their lockdowns, both Government officials and citizens have no clue when the world will return to normalcy. There are those who are looking into the aspects as to where things may stand once everything settles down. However, one thing is certain: Things will not be the same as they were before the Wuhan contagion swept the world. Of course, there will be a lot of families and individuals who will be devastated by the fallouts. Every passing day, it appears more and more likely that several businesses, which were swimming fine until the outbreak of the virus, will now sink into the depths of bankruptcy, with or without Government intervention. And those that survive will be fundamentally different. One of those differences will be driven from the “work from home” culture that has begun in many industries.

Work from home is a luxury that not every sector can avail. Even in the media industry, while online portals may have been able to spin their stories from a dark basement somewhere, that isn’t a change for most such news parasites. Newspapers can survive on limited staff in offices but the printing presses need to be manned. Television channels need to have fully-crewed output desks and editors even if the anchors can be isolated. Nevertheless, working from home is a reality in many sectors and this will lead to some interesting changes in demand for commercial real estate and transportation requirements. Maybe there will be less demand for shared cabs. More companies might invest in “hot desking”; having shared stations for employees where anyone can log in and work. Collaboration applications such as Zoom, which has become extremely popular, and Microsoft’s Teams will begin to rule the roost. And as tele-commuting becomes standard, will companies use the opportunity to cut costs as employees spend more time at home? That is extremely likely, salaries are certain to face a reality check. But this may not be the case across the world and in every sector. Whatever happens, it might be too soon to make a prediction of how things will play out in the coming months. There will be some interesting new developments and some puzzling trends that will play out. It is clear that this generation, which has become accustomed to social distancing and wearing masks, will be traumatised for years to come and handshakes might go extinct. But what will business as usual look like in 2021? It is too soon to say but rest assured it will not be the same as it was on February 1, 2020.