Inspire
The Bright Side of the Pandemic
There’s plenty of discussion around the horrors of COVID. Around the world, we have seen thousands losing their jobs, schools closing down, health care systems failing, and companies going bankrupt. Even those who have not been directly affected have been stressed out by the many uncertainties the pandemic posed concerning the future of everything. However, I do believe there is always a bright side for every story. Yes, there is another positive side to this pandemic. There were opportunities during the COVID crisis. Hear me out….
Better Working Opportunities for the Differently Abled
According to a survey published by UNISON, the UK’s largest union for members working for public services and utilities, the differently abled workers have been more productive since the start of the COVID pandemic crisis and reported taking less days off than when they were in the office. The reasons behind this are their access to work flexibly, ability to take short breaks whenever needed, and having easy access to accessible toilets. They also were less exhausted by long commuting journeys to and from their workplace.
In other words, it seems that the COVID pandemic may have reduced the gap between the differently abled and other employees, granting them a fairer and a more equitable chance. So maybe this is a shout-out to policymakers to change the work mode of those with special needs permanently to increase their general productivity!
Family Came First
Do you remember when was the last time you spent a long quality time with your family? During the lockdown, when the dining places and other entertainment places were closed down as well as workplaces, people started to spend more time with their families. We can remember at that time the comics spreading all over the social media commenting that people are just getting to know their families better during the crisis.
According to the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institution, teens have been positively affected by the COVID lockdown, in the sense that they were spending more time with their families, which resulted in a positive effect on their mental health. The study reported that 68% of families in the US reported that they have developed closer ties during the pandemic. Surprisingly, depression among teens dropped from 27% in 2018 to less than 17% during the lockdown and increased again to 20% after school resumed.
Work-life Balance
It is evident that the pandemic opened our eyes to a number of deficiencies in our current lifestyle. The mode of the modern workplace needs to be reviewed. If work from home is a more productive solution for many people, and if it has allowed them to have more time for themselves and helped them maintain a better work-life balance which consequently positively affects their mental and overall health, then more research should be invested in seriously considering altering their work mode.
If remote work helped support families, teens, and the differently abled better during the lockdown, why wouldn’t it always work for everyone, especially that we have all the tools and technologies that can make that happen? Maybe this can be the biggest positive outcome of the COVID pandemic.