What Does Future Of Work Mean? A Look Into Post Coronavirus Job Prospects And Spending

The worst of the Covid pandemic seems to be behind us now. States are slowly reducing their Covid restrictions. Many states have done away with the total lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. The Covid vaccine and its mass roll-out mean that more and more people are now able to resume their work.

However, the pandemic has resulted in a new normal. Things that had been previously unheard of or always thought to be impossible were made possible by the pandemic. Companies went entirely from working in their physical locations to everyone working from home in a few months.

These practices will go in even after the pandemic as people are becoming more comfortable with their new work conditions. Jobs in most service industries that could not be offered from home suffered a major hit, resulting in massive job cuts. However, with the economy opening, most of these jobs are beginning to open back.

In the worst of the pandemic, most people found ways to cope by turning their passions into money-making ventures. Purchasing patterns were significantly altered. The biggest shift was an emphasis on buying only the essentials in the first few months of the pandemic.

This post will look at some of the things that have now become normal and try to trace how some moved from passions into full-time jobs that will outlive the pandemic.

Altered Purchasing

The pandemic has significantly and in some cases permanently altered the buying culture for many people and commodities.

One of the most affected costs is the amount people are using for their consumption at home. With people spending most of their time, and in some cases all their time, at home, the rate at which house consumables are being used is higher. This has meant that most people use a higher percentage of their income on consumables such as food and toiletries. This also means that people are spending less on clothes and shoes as they are no longer experiencing the high wear and tear of having to dress up.

Working from home for most corporate jobs means that there has been reduced demand to buy a new car. This has significantly affected the models used for normal household activities such as commutes and household shopping. In a stable economy, this would mean that the prices for these models would become cheaper. However, the opposite is true. Other factors such as the ability to ship in parts for car manufacturers have resulted in reduced production capacity and higher prices. The import of cars has also been interrupted due to major interruptions to shipping lines caused by the pandemic.

Working from home has also resulted in many people looking to buy houses that fit their needs. In the past, proximity to a workplace was a significant consideration for many people buying their homes. Proximity to other workplace factors like proximity to easy commutes was highly considered.

The fact that most people can now work and live in their homes means that they are looking at other factors that were previously important but overshadowed by work factors. People are now looking at buying a second home that is both functional and comfortable. Houses that come with offices and workspaces are also in high demand. This has altered the cost and pricing of houses. Homes in rural and tourist communities are in high demand from people looking to live there.

Dentistry services were listed as not essential medical services. Many people, therefore, did not attend dentist appointments such as cleanings and regular checkups. In the past, most people would have at least one dentist visit in a year. As dentists are reopening, people are taking time to visit their dentist for cleaning and regular checkups.

During the pandemic months, many dentists also started making home visits to support their clients that needed their services. This, in turn, is creating more expense on traveling for the dental specialist. Prices for dentist services have also gone up as practices are trying to make up for the lost income of the pandemic months.

Future of Office Work

This started as a necessity for most companies. However, the approach has become so successful that many people and companies are willing to keep working remotely even after the pandemic. Some companies are completely moving out of their physical locations or maintaining a minimal workforce, which has reduced the demand for office spaces.

The approach has also resulted in many companies coming up with ways to have other functions becoming remote. The remote hiring and induction process are continuously improving, making it possible to onboard new people without the need for in-person interviews and induction processes.

Hybrid Approach

This approach has companies maintaining a physical location. Employees can decide whether to work from home or work from the office. Another version of this approach is making sure that the office is always manned and having employees coming to the office on a rotating basis.

The hybrid approach makes it easy to perform some functions that have mainly been difficult to do remotely. This includes certain human resource functions such as hiring, education, and disciplinary functions that still require a human touch.

Physical Locations

Different services that can’t be offered remotely have been slowly going back to their physical offices. However, those that require walk-in clients, such as dentists and beauticians, are still providing some services to clients at home.

Workplaces that also require regular foot traffic are still suffering from low customer numbers. This means such places are continuously looking to offer their services online and directly to the customers. Shopping malls are also working on introducing parking shopping where customers have their orders picked and delivered as they wait in the car. This has made it possible to keep service providers employed as well as improving foot traffic in these areas.

The Pandemic Economy – Prospective Jobs

The pandemic has brought the birth of many cottage industries earning people a living in the worst of the pandemic. Many people who lost jobs have also continuously been looking to find work that can keep them busy as industries take time to reopen.

Custom Printed tshirts

Custom printed tshirts have become a way of many people turning their hobby into a money-making venture. The supplies to start this business at home are accessible and at a price that most people can afford. The ability to sell across multiple online platforms meant that those making the t-shirts are serving bigger audiences.

Demand for custom items has also remained relatively high during the pandemic meaning there is a ready market for them. The pandemic period also had several social and political movements, and these have high requirements for printed t-shirts. The demand for these t-shirts, therefore, went up when demand for most other clothing items was going down.

Face Masks for sale

The demand for face masks has remained high as many places still require that people wear them in public. Most types of masks that people are wearing are surgical varieties. However, most people are also looking to wear reusable and customizable face masks. Face masks have also become a favorite branding product for many corporations and companies of all sizes.

Making face masks at home, which for some people started to fill personal needs, has become an income-earning avenue for many people. The products needed to start are inexpensive and easy to buy. The skills required to make good quality masks are also something that many people had but were not considered a revenue stream. The demand for the masks has also stayed high, meaning people can sell out all the masks that they make.

Selling Jewelry

Making homemade jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces has been a hobby for many people. People are turning this hobby into a career offering to make them on demand or continuously.

Jewelry made from beads, crystals, and metals is easy to make at home, maintaining the same quality as those made in factories and high-end shops. Online shops and platforms make it easier to sell their wares continuously. The jewelry is also easy to customize, making it a popular gift item. Customizable gift popularity looks to remain after the pandemic. This means that people will be able to use the skills to earn an income long after the pandemic.

Hobbyist Welding

Hobbyist welders in the past were using their skills to make outdoor furniture and repairs around the house. The pandemic made it possible for a hobbyist to have time to work on these skills and improve them from basic and amateur levels to professional levels.

Social media platforms have also made it easy for the hobbyist to showcase their skills by constantly posting their wares. This has made it easy to connect hobbyists to clients that are looking for these skills. Hobbyist welder growing professionals are also able to offer niche skills that were not available from welding factories that work on bulk orders.

HVAC Installation

HVAC installations are becoming essential in most houses as they are also being used as workspaces and learning spaces for kids. This has made many people require upgrades to their existing HVAC systems.

HVAC technicians are, therefore, continuously in demand, both working on upgrades and repairs of existing systems. The high demand for these technicians has made some that had put down their tools are coming back into the trade. HVAC systems are also in demand as more people take the time to work on upgrading their systems as they spend more time in their houses.

Garage Door Repair

The pandemic has given a new lease of life to garages. Garage spaces are continuously being used for additional storage and workspaces. This, therefore, means that garage doors need to be repaired to make sure that space can be used as secured storage space. The use of garage spaces as workspace also requires the doors to be lockable to ensure that work tools are always safe.

This means that garage door repair technicians are continuously in high demand. People with the skills to repair garage doors offer their services to those required to give their garage that new lease of life. Technicians are also upscaling their skills to make sure that they can provide end-to-end garage repair services. This means learning skills such as carpentry and interior designing.

Siding Contractor

The pandemic left many people looking at parts of their houses that need repairs. Siding contractors who have the skills to work on most of these contracts, helping people that are looking to upgrade their roofs. Sliding contractors have also been continuously working as advisors to amateurs looking to work on their roofing. Sliding contractors are also working on providing tools and materials to those looking to repair their roofs.

The best way for sliding contractors to make the extra income is by working as subcontractors for roofing repairs. Contractors provide cut and ready-to-use materials that help those who need to do their repairs to have an easier time fixing their roofs. Hiring out of tools and machinery is also a way contractors have been using to earn an extra income.

Conclusion

In the end, many things that have been learned from the pandemic have become the new normal. This means that most practices are either wholly or partially being adopted into how we work and live. Practices such as working from home and people are taking up hobbies as their new job will continue long into the future. The pandemic has made it possible to have a look at how work is affected by working from home. In most cases, this has proven to be a more effective way to work.