It is such a strange time that we are living in, isn’t it? Utterly bizarre and most exasperating (thanks, UK government). If you think back to the start of the year, if someone had said that the children would be off school for months on end, restaurants and pubs would close, many would be without work, and we’d be standing on our doorstep to clap for the NHS, we would have been wondering that they had been smoking. None of us would have thought it was possible for life to change so much in only a short space of time, but things have really changed beyond all recognition. The good thing is that we are all making changes and adapting to life as we know it now. In fact, dare we dream of life after the coronavirus and making plans into next year?
This whole time has shown that we can adapt to almost anything. We can change how we live and work in different ways, and yes, even survive without the pub for months. So that is definitely a good thing to come out of it, and seeing that we are resilient and can keep going even when our world has been turned upside down. What are some of the other things that can be a benefit after all of this or how long-term, our lives will change when all of this is over? Here are some of the things to think about.
Flexible working
Before the initial lockdown and offices were forced to close, people who worked flexibly were quite few and far between. Unless you worked as a freelancer, where you already worked from home, then the chances are that you probably had one day at home a week, if you were lucky, and then it was a commute and a nine-to-five role for you. Even some flexible working requests could have been denied up to this point, but now employers don’t really have anything to go on; employees all around the world have shown that they still get their work done when they are at home, even with children at home and aiming to homeschool at the same time! This is something that will really help going forward, especially for those with children, caring responsibilities, or just anyone who doesn’t want to go back to the rat-race way of doing things.
Lack of commuting
On a similar note, if more people are going to work flexibly in the future, there will be less of a commute. Think about the positives that it has on the environment, as well as the potential for people to move to live elsewhere. For anyone living in a commuter town, this could change massively. If you don’t need to live near to a train station anymore, as you’ll only go into the office once a week, if at all, it could mean moving out to a more affordable area, or moving to an area where you could get a much bigger home for the same amount of money. Of course, it is a good idea to calculate mortgage payments before you decide to move. But for many people, this could be a very real option, especially with stamp duty deals for a little while.
Staying healthy
Although there are sadly some really shocking statistics around mental health as a result of the pandemic, there is some other good news when it comes to our general health as a result of the pandemic. From lifestyle changes to creating some better eating habits, more people are using the time to be healthier in a variety of different areas. Not having to commute means more time for many, which could result in time to exercise more at home or outdoors, as well as having more sleep and time to cook from scratch. In fact, in a survey that was taken in the summer, over 60% of people questioned said that they had made some significant lifestyle changes as a result of the pandemic. These included being outdoors more, getting more involved with nature, improved sleeping routine, starting an exercise regime, and making more positive changes to what they eat.
Eating and exercise are the main areas that have improved, which can get forgotten about when we are busy and feeling stressed. More people are definitely embracing the benefit that comes from working from home and the time that it allows them to do more at home, and have more time for themselves.
Family and the pandemic
There have been some benefits as well as drawbacks to all of the time that we have had at home. Being cooped up at home for long periods of time is something that is hard, and not natural. We are social creatures after all, right? Remote learning has gone well for some, and for others, it could have been worse, especially when trying to work full-time at the same time.
In the same survey linked above, though, it was found that there were many positive experiences that were recorded around being with family more than normal. It was found that 34% of those people surveyed said that they felt closer to their family as a result of lockdown. For those with children in the home, over half of those households reported that they feel like that have created and forged some new connections as a family. Additionally, nearly 80% of people said that they really valued the time and that it has helped them to value their family relationships. With children, it was also found that many children benefited from being able to spend much more time with their family than normal. If both parents work or are usually out of the home a lot, this was a significant positive change for the children involved. Of course, it isn’t all rosey with all homes and family situations, and in some cases, all of the time together could have caused a lot of strain. But on the whole, many have seen it as a positive.
Reevaluate life goals
Having more time on your hands, or having something unexpected like being made redundant, can help some people to be able to reevaluate what they are looking for out of life. A career change might be what some people will look to do, and there are still a number of businesses that are cropping up during lockdown. Box 42, for example, are a UK-based company that was born out of lockdown, when thinking about how couples could still have a ‘date night’ and do something other than just watching a movie or scrolling on their phones.
So for some people, this has been a time to really think about what they want out of life, and have the chance that they need to make some changes, where possible. In the survey mentioned, 65% of people said that the pandemic has made them reevaluate what they want to do with their time, as well as nearly 60% saying that it has made them take another look at their life goals. Going forward, this is going to happen more and more, as people realise their priorities and then take steps to make some changes.
Despite the concerns and the difficulties that are faced through a pandemic, as you can see, some of the people who have been surveyed reported a lot of positives about their situations. Nearly 80% reported that they found quarantine and social distancing difficult, but at the same time, it has helped to make them value their friendships and family relationships even more. Although some of our lives have been changed forever, there are still a lot of us hopeful for the future.