The global economy has significantly changed since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Some of the major implications in the business world have been documented by to show how covid has changed global business. The implementation of control measures such as vaccine rollouts has been key in getting things back to some form of normalcy. But despite this, most changes in global business are here to stay. Here are some of the major ones.
Hybrid Structures Are the Future
The coronavirus outbreak in 2020 changed the way we work. In the US, 71% of employed adults were working from home in December 2020. In 2021, some workers returned to the office while others continued to work remotely. Moving forward, companies will need to invest in hybrid work structures, allowing employees to work in the office and from home. This will create a good working experience for employees and save companies money on rent and on employee-related expenses. This money can be used to improve the hybrid work setup.
More People Will Be Working from Home
Although some companies allowed employees to work from home before the pandemic, the numbers increased significantly after the health crisis. The rate of teleworking has increased in every country globally. Employees now have an improved quality of life and spend less time in traffic traveling to and from the office.
Tools such as Zoom and Zendesk have boosted engagement between customers and companies around the world. Loan Center, a top online lender, says its sales team now connects with customers and prospects remotely. When people search for “auto title loans near me” and land on the company’s website, they immediately connect with the sales team without visiting the physical location.
There Will Be Less International Business Travel
Before the pandemic, the global business tourism spending was approximately $1.28 trillion. However, the pandemic greatly affected travel and many organizations cut down business trips and physical meetings. Although the air travel industry is recovering, companies are now more strategic about business travel. Employees and company executives now travel to meet big clients or to sustain existing relationships. Larger meetings such as conferences are now held virtually by most organizations.
There Is a Need for Emotional Intelligence
Company executives and managers now need to have a higher level of emotional intelligence than before. The pandemic presented too many challenges, forcing companies to adapt much quicker. For instance, company executives and directors had to quickly learn how to manage hybrid teams as more employees started working remotely.
Emotional intelligence makes for better management. Business leaders will also need to build better communication models to handle the new changes. They must learn how to manage the needs of every team, department, individual employees, and the company as a whole.
The coronavirus pandemic has tremendously affected global business. The unexpected challenges it brought forced organizations to adapt and find new ways of handling business operations. As the world returns to “normal,” businesses have to adapt in order to survive the ever-changing business environment.
