What Now? Thoughts & Anxieties Post Covid-19 From FuseLab CEO

But sometimes those rainy days or those long-term aims seem just a bit too distant to worry about in the here and now. The highest-paid in an organization are surprisingly no different than the lowest paid when it comes to saving, however, the latter often don’t have large credit resources to fall back on. Now that the rainy day for many has arrived, it’s time to do what we can.

Unfortunately, many of us are not prepared. In fact, the statistics are very worrying. It is estimated that 40% of Americans do not have funds readily available to handle a $500 emergency. In the midst of a crisis like a coronavirus, this puts way too many people in real jeopardy.

CEOs and organizations as a whole can help change this trend in the future. By offering free financial advisory and education services, as well as saving schemes and other measures or programs, CEOs can make sure that their personnel remains safe and secure, whatever comes their way.

The kind of peace of mind this offers may even be reflected by improved performance and enhanced productivity from your teams. When people feel safe and respected in their roles, they will often be more productive and do more in their individual roles to help increase revenue and production.

Covid-19 has taught us a great many things. One of those things is that we are living in a different world than we were living in only a few short years ago.

This is a world of international media, international business, international travel, and international communication. It is partly (the “partly” is important here) because of this that the virus has been able to spread so quickly.

What impacts someone on the other side of the world should be the concern of all of us, and it seems we now need to think this way in light of the good and the bad that happens, as this situation has taught us so dramatically.

After the virus has been made more manageable, we can go one of two ways. We can close up, become more introverted, and shy away from the potential of “foreign” viruses, which seems like a natural human reflex.

Or we can reach outward, becoming even more global, and more internationally engaged than ever before, and use this tragic time as a reason to expand our thinking and approach to business, life, community, science, and the benefits of shared experiences and knowledge.

In light of the enormous levels of international cooperation that have been necessary for fighting this virus, it seems that we need to try to take the inclusion course as much as possible.

Everyone, school teachers, doctors, and business people alike now have a good reason to attempt to become more involved in projects that promote international cooperation and harmony, and in supporting economic development across the globe.

The impact of Covid-19 on New York City will, no doubt, have an economic impact on other cities across the globe, and vice-versa for cities like Wuhan and Moscow. All of these changes will also have an impact on digital product design trends.

Of course, for smaller businesses, like mine, it may be difficult to achieve this kind of reach, but we can still forge digital outreach and continue to nurture new connections overseas. Recently, FuseLab Creative completed projects in New Zealand and Canada, and the insight we received during our interactions with these organizations has had a profound impact on all of us. If we are working remotely now, how remote we seem less and less significant.

The work/life balance is something that we tend to pay lip service to but maybe don’t really engage with on a practical level. The Covid-19 pandemic may just have changed that forever.

All of a sudden, our loved ones, and of course ourselves, are in genuine jeopardy of contracting a life-threatening disease just by breathing. In an instant, a seemingly far-flung news story was brought home to us with alarming ferocity.

Maybe, some of the things we’d been taking for granted have suddenly became a little more precious, and our emotions have been a little less easy to disguise.

Our nerves have been exposed with little protection, and in a strange way, this might lead us to make decisions, business or personal, from a place with less ambiguity and more clarity on what really motivates us to act.

This pandemic has also demonstrated what is possible in the modern working environment and helped us to understand that maybe we are better off not spending so many hours commuting, and in the end, this new approach to work actually allows us to be more productive, which conversely has allowed for more “quality” time with family.

While a total shift toward remote work and a WFH structure is probably neither feasible nor desirable for everyone, we can certainly shake things up a bit.

We can give our employees more time and resources to safeguard their financial futures, reconnect with family on a more regular schedule, and our company’s bottom line may even benefit from the shift down the road a bit.

In New York, Governor Cuomo has talked about trying to “build back better.” The thought of coming out of this stronger and somehow better is certainly a welcomed mantra during what is still a time of so much struggle, sadness, and loss of life.

This concept represents a key attitude shift for businesses as well. Rather than trying to limit damage during this time, we could be considering how we can use this time to be more productive, to optimize our workflows, or how to systematize internal processes to become more efficient and increase profit.

Being under lockdown provides us with more time to fill. This, in turn, affords us the time required to indulge in those creative projects that might have fallen by the wayside in normal circumstances.

Maybe this manifests itself in the development of a whole new line of content marketing for your business, which you actually have the time to develop and bring to fruition. Or, perhaps you end up designing a new product or service to fulfill a particular customer need, which is then ready for launch when the lockdown is over.

Who hasn’t been on a work retreat? The whole idea is to be cut off from the world and focus on the things that never get addressed during the normal workday grind.

Now that we are forced in retreat, and obviously for a longer period of time than practically anyone would want, but nonetheless we have the chance to reflect and make decisions that may never have been addressed and be “better” for it.