The COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt changed the way we work. From our actual workload to our commute, the pandemic has influenced every facet of our work experience. As the world switched to a virtual format, employees grappled with both challenges and benefits as they adjusted to this new structure of employment. Yet, the challenges seemed to outweigh the perks of working through a pandemic, and these challenges differed among employees. Although society has changed how we worked over the past two years, the return to normalcy still is not yet upon us. These past two years were unprecedented and will set a new standard for the post-COVID workplace.
In 2020, employment took a hit. Essential workers bore the brunt of the pandemic’s difficulties. From cashiers to nurses, these individuals worked on the frontlines of the pandemic and raised the question of how to keep these workers safe as COVID-19 ravaged the world. Many workers were forced to work without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), putting their own lives at risk.
Researchers found that access to proper equipment varied. For instance, in food service, availability of gloves ranged from 78% for Pizza Hut workers to just 36% for Chipotle workers.” As for requirements to wear masks, “Access to masks and requirements to wear masks was near zero through much of March […] By early April, 40% of workers reported access to masks, but even then, just 20% reported requirements to wear masks.” Despite the extent of the pandemic’s health hazards, employees remained at risk due to their lack of access to PPE.
As for unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted, “After reaching a peak in February 2020, employment fell by a combined 22.4 million in March and April, a decline of 15 percent. By contrast, in the previous four employment downturns since 1981, job losses averaged 3%, with the largest decline (6%) occurring during the Great Recession of 2007–09.” The Pew Research Center also found that “Overall, 25% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household was laid off or lost their job because of the coronavirus outbreak, with 15% saying this happened to them personally.”
Yet, other employees thrived under the pandemic’s new work conditions, which included more flexible hours and the ability to work from home. A survey of over 2,100 people found that “51% report being more productive working from home, and 95% say productivity has been higher or the same while working remotely.” Moreover, numerous companies have observed that employees prefer remote work because it helps improve mental health, accommodates the needs of the employees, and reduces commute time. For working parents, the flexibility of remote work provides time to care for their children without compromising their income.
As the pandemic leveled off, many businesses considered maintaining the hybrid model. Dave Carvaja, CEO of Dave Partners, summed up, “The truth of the matter is CEOs acknowledge that productivity has gone up. People are working more and it’s more productive. People want that. People want the flexibility to work from home and work in their own way.” 2021 definitely saw the emphasis on virtual to hybrid work and caused many employers to keep this model to keep the workplace safe and the employees content.
The arrival of vaccines allowed the workplace situation to take a turn. The introduction of safe and effective COVID vaccines allowed more businesses to feel more comfortable with in-person work but also instigated the debate of mandating vaccination for employees. The Supreme Court blocked the Biden Administration from enforcing vaccine mandates on large private companies. Although many workplaces already required proof of vaccination, the Supreme Court’s actions have also caused many businesses to shy away from imposing vaccination mandates. The workplace has been a direct reflection of the polarization the pandemic has caused regarding public health and safety.
As the pandemic is monitored, adjustments are constantly made to the policies that have been put in place since the beginning of the pandemic. Increasingly, states are lifting mask mandates in schools and workplaces, with March 7 being the end of New Jersey’s school mask mandate. As Governor Murphy stated, easing these restrictions are “not a declaration of victory as much as an acknowledgment that we can responsibly live with this thing.”
We are still far from the “return to normalcy” we all crave, but the pandemic’s hybrid model—and all its merits—has nonetheless influenced workplace norms for decades to come.
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