Back To Normal?

Fifteen months after a pandemic changed our world, the United States looks like it is coming out of it. After months of division, deaths, and a whole lot of businesses disappearing, cases are finally down, deaths are way down, and the vaccine is spreading.

I’m not entirely convinced we’re completely out of the woods on this thing, but after so many months of endless bad news, we’ve had a few months now of constantly improving news. Which leads to the question of this post. Is time time for us to return to normal? Or did we learn anything about what our “normal” was that might suggest an improvement in what our normal once was?

Here in California, June 15 is the target date for when everything re-opens. When capacity limits are removed, lockdowns are fully lifted, and businesses can, hopefully, return to what they do. There are some clouds on the horizon though. There are plenty of stories of restaurants and others in service industries struggling to find employees. A couple of days ago, I had lunch at a local burger and beer joint. They have a small indoor area that has been shut down for the last 15 months and a patio where they have been serving customers during that time. I asked one of the employees when they thought they would open the indoor area. They’re hoping for June 15, but they’re having a tough time finding enough kitchen staff to fully re-open. It’s a story I have heard repeated at every restaurant and bar I’ve been to in recent weeks.

But what is our world going to look like as things continue to re-open? Here are a few things I’d like to see happen.

1. Maintaining some of the habits and pleasures people picked up in a world turned upside down. Hiking and walking and getting outside more because there was a time when that was pretty much all we could do. Baking and cooking more at home. Spending more quality time with those who we are closest to. I’m sure there are more, but you get the idea.
2. Continuing to re-evaluate habits acquired but not so easy to do in a world of shutdowns. I’m thinking of some of the daily and weekly things we do. Endless trips to Starbucks. Eating out way more than dining at home. One of the things the pandemic did for me is that our monthly expenses went waaaaaaaaay down. And you know what happened as a result? We were fine. There was no suffering. I hope those kinds of lessons learned from a year of not a whole heck of a lot can stick and lead to a different way to view what are necessities and what are wants that can be cut back on.
3. I’d like to see more tolerance, because I think there was a lot of that over the last 15 months and it would be nice to see it grow. Yes, I know, there were plenty of places where it seemed like intolerance and division grew. I can’t disagree with that. But I think the greater reality is that going through this experience brought more people together than it drove apart. I hope we find a way to maintain and build on the community spirit that has grown during this crisis.
4. Employers recognize the benefits of working from home. Until this past year, I was never a fan of people working from home, believing that it contributes to a lot less work actually getting done. I’m still not necessarily a fan of it for myself. But what’s clear from the last 15 months is that a lot of work can be done from home, a lot of employees actually work harder and do more when they are at home. It appears that a lot of employers are pondering the possibilities now in a way they weren’t willing to do before. Some companies are going entirely to work from home. Others are moving towards a hybrid approach. State government in California will likely start moving people back into the office during the next few months. Most departments and agencies I’m aware of are talking about a hybrid approach, with most employees working a couple of days each week in the office and the rest at home. One of the drivers of this is simple. Cost. One such agency is talking about cutting back on the amount office space they lease — from eleven floors in a downtown office building to five floors.

I don’t expect much of this to happen. In the next few months, there will be a huge explosion of pent-up demand and, assuming the virus doesn’t come back with a vengeance, a few months after that, I fully expect people to be back to their old normal in almost every way. I think it’s a shame that is what is likely. What about you? Do you think there’s any chance we identify a new healthier, more tolerant normal as we come out of this?