10 Changes To The Future of Work & Play In a Post-Coronavirus World

Pushing digital transformation has long been a difficult process as people are inherently averse to change, especially when there is no obvious problem with the current way of doing things. However, the wide-reaching and sudden impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced us to almost instantly adapt to new ways of working and living. Here are ten predictions of how the world is going to change as a result of the global pandemic and the associated advancement of technology:

1. Increase of Telehealth & Digital Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought telemedicine into a new light. As medical professionals seek to remain disease-free, the need for medical technologies that work remotely has skyrocketed. Both the CDC and WHO are advocating for increased use of telemedicine to monitor patients as to reduce the spread of the virus in hospitals. With increased investment in the relevant technologies, physicians are expanding their reach and interacting with patients remotely wherever possible. Moving forward, perhaps we will no longer need to consult “Dr Google”, instead consulting an actual doctor online anywhere and at anytime.

2. Robotics Revolution

Impervious to cross-infections and viral outbreaks, the use of robotics and drones has been pivotal as our trust in automation increases. Medical robots have been used to allow remote and specialist doctors to communicate with quarantined patients diagnosed with COVID-19 via a video screen as well as assessing patients’ vitals while minimizing exposure to hospital staff. Drones and other autonomous vehicles have also been used to quickly deploy medical and food supplies to areas in need.

In Japan, they are already rolling out robots in homes, offices and schools in roles liked aged carers, cleaners, security guards, delivery people, and butlers. As the country’s population has aged, its workforce has shrunk, creating an urgent demand for robotics as part of a hybrid human and humanoid solution. The rest of the world is likely to follow suit at some stage as robotics and automation will be integrated into mainstream society like the smartphone a decade ago.

3. Contactless Technology Growth

The spread of the Coronavirus has made us hyper-aware of every touchable surface that could transmit the disease. With the transition from touch-based systems to contactless systems already well underway in the name of increased efficiency, technologies that allow us to interact through voice or facial recognition are likely to gain traction as concern for hygiene increases. ‘Tap & Go’ payment systems are likely going to join cash as relics of the past as they are replaced by contactless systems integrated into smartphones and wearable technologies. The global contactless payment market size is expected to grow from $10.3 billion in 2020 to $18 billion by 2025 with demand increasing consistently across all developed markets.

4. eCommerce First For Retail

China was the first to experience the COVID-19 outbreak, causing major disruption to the retail industry. Big brands like Uniqlo and Burberry closed around 50% of all their physical stores, with footfall traffic dropping as much as 80%. On the other hand, eCommerce has been booming with online grocery sales increasing 100% as consumers are at home. A quick look at history tells us that during the SARS epidemic of 2003 people were also wary of going outside. In response, the founder of Jing Dong (JD.com), one of China’s largest online retailers, moved his physical stores to an online store and leading to SARS now being considered as a perfect storm for e-commerce to change Chinese consumption forever.

Whilst studies are still in their infancy, current surveys have already shown that 6 in 10 consumers intend to continue buying as much online once the pandemic has passed as they are currently, pointing to the virus’s dramatic long-term impact on consumer shopping habits, namely accelerating the shift to online retail.

5. Evolving Digital Events to The Matrix

Digitalizing large events that would usually be held in-person, such as business conferences, have highlighted the platform’s convenience advantage – people can participate from anywhere in the world efficiently and cost-effectively. However, for these efficiencies to be utilized successfully in a post-Corona world, solutions to how people can interact at online events are still developing and improving to better replicate the real face-to-face experience. Of course, we do not predict online to overtake in-person as the preferred mode of gathering in this context anytime soon, but we can imagine a world in which augmented and/or virtual reality enables people to network as a personalized avatar of themselves. Elements of the science-fiction worlds portrayed in films like The Matrix and Ready Player One could become realities sooner than we may have thought. 

6. The Explosion of eSports

The absence of professional sport on TV has left an entertainment void in the lives of many. But eSports are thriving. Through creative branding and engaging content, eSports is continuing to grow not only with players but with the millions of viewers who tune in to watch the events. We are not only filling stadiums to watch professional video gamers playing League of Legends, Overwatch and Counter-Strike, but we can also watch professional athletes from tennis, basketball, baseball, and soccer play video games against their virtual selves at home. Twitch, the leading platforms for gaming streaming, has seen an impressive 20% rise in viewership in just one month of the Coronavirus and Newzoo is predicting global esports revenues will grow to $1.1 billion in 2020, a year-on-year growth of +15.7%, up from $950.6 million in 2019.

7. The Shift To Online Entertainment & Services

With everyone stuck on their couches, we have seen a sharp upturn in demand for streaming services in recent weeks with Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube all recording huge rises. Data from Nielsen revealed that in the US, internet TV viewership was up 109% for March 2020 when compared to the same month in 2019 and Netflix has more than doubled the number of new subscribers it expected in the last three months as a result of the social-distancing restrictions.

Additionally, with the closure of gyms, yoga studios, and dance studios, fitness instructors have had to engage with their clients online. Music lessons, business coaching, and cooking lessons have also transitioned to digital. I have enjoyed taking beginner’s improv classes online and whilst I’ve missed the in-person human connection, I don’t mind avoiding the two-hour commute travel there and home afterward and have felt that I can still be social and interact with my classmates over video conference. For some activities, I will be continuing my online lessons post-Coronavirus, such as cooking classes from world-class chefs, and for others such as improving my salsa dancing, I look forward to the human interaction again.

8. Remote Working Acceptance

With restrictions from the government on non-essential workers to stay at home, remote working, or working from home, is currently the new norm. For many, including myself, being forced to work and to meet remotely has taught us that in many instances congregating in person is not always necessary, especially if extended travel is required. I am still able to hold meetings, run brainstorm and workshop sessions, and present at industry events, all conducted digitally. A 2-year Stanford study found an astounding 13% productivity boost among the sampled ‘4 days at-home staff’, a 50% decrease in employee attrition, and people working from home took shorter breaks, had fewer sick days, and took less time off. Continuing social distancing restrictions coupled with the improvement of video communication tools such as Zoom, Skype, and Hangouts have alleviated some of the stigma surrounding working from home. Whilst we may not be working full-time from home, the increased remote working acceptance by businesses and corporations means a combined office/at-home flexibility package may become a common perk offered to employees.

9. Learning Going Digital

In the same vein, online learning across all levels of education and training has proven to be possible. Most notably, in many cases universities have been able to carry on coursework almost as per usual, pointing to the inevitable transition to increased remote tertiary teaching. The education sector for younger students is also moving in the same direction, as we see high schools and elementary schools being forced to adapt by integrating new ways of learning and interacting in a digital-first manner.

Further, use of online learning platforms to conduct corporate training or gain new personal or professional skills such as edX, FutureLearn, and Masterclass has been on the rise, with Coursera seeing an “eightfold increase in enrolments for social science, personal development, arts and humanities courses since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak”. This trend will likely continue to be a popular way to gain new knowledge and learn new skills long after the global pandemic is over.

10. Importance of Cybersecurity & Privacy

Increased global connectivity paired with increasingly sophisticated cyber-criminals means that the risk that your organization suffers from a successful cyber-attack or data breach is on the rise. More than one-third of senior technology executives surveyed by CNBC say that cybersecurity risks have increased as a majority of their employees work from home. Improving cyber-security is important as it encompasses everything that pertains to protecting our sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, and governmental and industry information systems. Developing reliable cyber-security systems must become a priority as we have already seen privacy issues arise in platforms like Zoom (video bombing), TikTok (transparency), and Facebook (data misuse). There is no doubt that the topic of cybersecurity and privacy will be a hot one over the coming years. 

Despite COVID-19 taking its toll on our work and personal lives, it is also forcing us to innovate out of necessity. The above list of predictions, in essence, indicates how the development of systems and technologies that were previously identified as revolutionary and inevitable parts of our future has just been accelerated. As our society becomes more digitally dependent, innovation in response to the global pandemic may mean that we’re living in a more robust and efficient world way ahead of schedule.