Living and working in a post-pandemic world

THERE is no denying it - a global pandemic has changed life as we know it. As social distancing measures, self-isolation, and remote working become the norm, the outbreak of Covid-19 has shifted the way we think about home, work and community. Now, it is forcing us to reconsider how we collectively think about our needs and the world around us, from both personal and business perspectives.

For those of us fortunate enough to be healthy, the pandemic's biggest impact has been on the way we work. The need for people to be separated from each other has brought the biggest business challenge of the new millenium: en masse and overnight, companies had to digitise. There has been explosive demand for software as a service (SaaS), video conferencing, chatbots and other sophisticated digital tools as workforces shift from the office to their kitchen tables and couches.

Though work-from-home measures are currently considered temporary, the crisis is persisting and the long-term effects of homeworking are likely to change how we think about home and work. Those of us in the business of creating homes for the community need to ask ourselves some key questions: "How will people want to live after Covid-19?", "What will their needs be?" and "How can we meet them?"