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We Shouldn’t Rush Back to Pre-COVID Office Life

A reader shares his thoughts on how COVID-19 was “an unplanned catalyst of change for those in the office workspace.”

The COVID pandemic has been an unplanned catalyst of change for those in the office workspace. It is my opinion that corporate rigidity, traditional management and basic resistance to change have long been the hallmarks of the insurance industry. It's as if no one in top management ever seriously asked what sense it makes to grow larger offices full of good employees who are essentially forced to waste a good part of their workdays commuting. Insane? Few people seemed to think so pre-COVID.

What did the commute give us? A high demand for cars, gas and auto repairs; jammed freeways and a related, diminished quality of life; health challenges of sitting too much and being stressed out. And the loss of precious time with family.

Many businesses were created to serve commuters. And what did COVID give us? An understanding that our highly paid health experts and elected officials had let us all down by failing to be properly prepared for this pandemic, a rash of unconstitutional orders initially aimed at gaining time to confront the largely unknown, forced economic shutdowns, and restriction of personal freedoms of all but those who chose to protest (whether peacefully or violently). Sickness and death of the sort that most of us have only read about, and fortunately never seen. And finally, amazing medical innovations.

The inescapable conclusions are that we will survive, but too many will die. Some of those working from home will miss the social aspect of being in person with their co-workers, but most will thank God and their employer for their new freedom to work from home, or potentially any other location. The big losers will be bars, restaurants and other small businesses that served masses of big city commuters. Pandemics are more common than most realize. Check it out.

When this crisis is over, should we all snap back to the way it used to be? I'd say not if we're smart. To paraphrase The Six Million Dollar Man—We have the technology to rebuild them.

Anthony Verreos
Verreos Insurance Agency
Brisbane, California



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