What COVID Maybe (Actually?) Changed About Society

A partial list. Let me know your thoughts.

My broader idea as I think through it is that … lots of stuff will change, but it won’t be Earth-shattering at first. We probably will not know the full economic and societal impact of COVID-19 for a half-decade or longer. Here are just a couple of theories I have, tied in to some previous stuff I’ve written and seen around da web and in conversations. I am avoiding bigger macro issues like debt, inflation, etc. honestly because I am not well-enough-informed on those topics to say anything truly meaningful.

I do not think we’re headed for an “Empathy Renaissance”

Businesses are predominantly run off of execution and expertise, or at least perceived expertise. Empathy usually does not factor in, even though we’ve had research in recent years that more empathetic companies (which admittedly is hard to quantify) increase their revenue. At a professional level (i.e. work level), once we hit the “New Normal” or “Never Normal,” I think most businesses will want to return to “the way things were,” because in the eyes of the leaders/bosses, that will feel comforting. So while I think people will have internalized news footage of six-hour food bank lines and generally understood that the playing field is not even in the world (definitely not in America), I think the idea of “We’re blowing and going again! We’re back! We’re making money and meeting payroll!” is more powerful. As that notion rises up, I think empathy will fade.