So what are we as a society going to do with the aftermath of covid?

peasant wrote: »

I know this is hard to think about while we're still in the middle of lockdown and we all just want to go back to "normality", but I think normality as we used to know it is gone, never to return.

The new normal will need a bit more than just washing our hands of covid. I'm afraid there is a pretty big impact on society coming down the line:

Lots and lots of people have lost their jobs and/or businesses, some of these jobs and businesses will be gone for a long time if not forever.

Of those people, the majority will have experienced financial losses which they never might recover. These people will be locked out of markets like housing or anything else that requires significant investment for years to come.

Children and young people most of all have experienced severe disruption to their social development. I'd like to think we owe them something to make up for this.

Workplaces have changed. While wfh is not everybody's cup of tea, many people have had reason to re-evaluate the amount of time they used to spend away from home / commuting and will be looking for change.

We have discovered that we treat our essential workers pretty poorly. We also had reason to re-evaluate what really is essential and what isn't. We might not want to, perhaps we even shouldn't go back to the old normal on that point.

There is lots more to mention (like mental health, abuse and domestic violence for example) that will have left scars that will need healing.

This whole mess has also cost a lot of money and somebody will have to pay for it ...this needs to be done fairly, some of the people mentioned above will need a break.

And then there is quite a significant number of people who will have done rather well out of this mess. Who kept their jobs and piled up the savings. Are they under some obligation now?


So ...any ideas for our brave new normal?

Obligation?

I think people have changed. It take times to form new habits and weve had that time.

I think when the pubs and clubs reopen there will be a short lived rush but ultimately we'll settle into a spanish like drink at home and go out later, if at all

I think people will cook at home more and will go to restaurants less. They'll still go, but people will be a lot more price and service conscious. The irish are crap at service and people wont tolerate it anymore when just not going out is a real and preferred option as many people have learned to cook and invested in cookware.

I think The back is broken on the need to have huge weddings. Many folk had small weddings and their sibling aren't under the same pressure to invite everbody.

WFH has shown itself to not be the utopian ideal we wanted, but we'll be loathe to spend the amount of time commuting. A hybrid will be the norm. 5 days of the week in the office for no good reason will not be the norm going forward.

With the change in commute Electric cars become a workable option. I see a huge move towards them even for those who would have had longer commutes.


I also see, with WFH and the commute changes, Broadband will be the single highest priority in the country once people are vaccinated.

Tony EH wrote: »

You'll be surprised at how fast everything will spring back to normal once COVID is gone.

I can't wait for normality and freedom again. I'll probably lick the counter while waiting on my first drink in a pub.

The rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. I see social unrest ahead, especially after the next election when the current idiots get voted out. Unfortunately with no decent alternatives people will go for independents and no cohesive government will emerge. The smart will emigrate.

Multipass wrote:

The rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. I see social unrest ahead, especially after the next election when the current idiots get voted out. Unfortunately with no decent alternatives people will go for independents and no cohesive government will emerge. The smart will emigrate.

That was the case before covid, so what's going to be new?

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

That was the case before covid, so what's going to be new?

Covid has accelerated it massively, enriched many, impoverished many others. ‘All in it together’ will fall apart once the cohort with their new savings are unleashed on the housing market, and are protected from the shambles of the Public Health Service.

Can't say how the world will react, but there's more than enough people out there who want the old normal back, and they will do all they can to do it. Within time, I think most things will be back to the way they were, but I also think there'll be less people in general taking part. Personally, I'll probably never attend a concert, festival, sport event, clubs, conventions, even pubs. I never really liked crowded places to begin with, but not in an agoraphobic way, more of a enochlophobic way. I love open spaces, I don't like when they're filled with loads of people.

I have always wanted to visit Japan, but I think that might be off the cards. I can avoid the busy places, as I think I'd prefer the country places more anyway, but it's the flight I don't think I can do. Any holiday I plan will most likely be a driving one, so lots of countries off the list. It's gonna be a weird time I reckon.

A large amount of savings has accumulated, this will probably find it's way into the housing market, mopping up the small supply. Building is at a standstill. Big issues with housing in the near future

peasant wrote: »

And then there is quite a significant number of people who will have done rather well out of this mess. Who kept their jobs and piled up the savings. Are they under some obligation now?

Obligation? Fúck that.

Those of us who kept our jobs had to put on the big girl / boy pants every day last March / April and go out to work. The workplace which was generally a hell of lot more stressful than before anyways, even without the risk of catching a vaguely understood new disease, with extra cleaning, customer marshalling, procedures etc and changing rules all the time. Not to mention what it was like for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, care assistants who had to deal with sick people with an unknown new illness. At least the public viewed them as heros: truck drivers, warehouse workers, bus drivers, bank clerks, supermarket workers, cleaners, posties, social-welfare clerks, IT support techs etc were barely even noticed. Lots of people have worked from home - with inadequate space, crappy desks, slow broadband, lack of contact with colleagues, having to use their own phones for work calls. Lawyers, accountants and the like have usually also kept working, some in the office with the doors closed, some at home. (I've had a couple of transactions done, where I had to post papers thru a door, and then hover outside while the professional did his/her bit and then opened the door for 20 seconds to pass them back to me - worst of both worlds!)

And we had to keep doing it. If we got to take holidays in summer, there was probably no-where to go. Lots of people didn't even get to take decent amounts of leave, because businesses were struggling with the sheer volume of stuff that needed doing.

All while family / friends who are PUPpies were sitting at home, moaning about Netflix being slow and experimenting with banana bread recipes. Even when the pubs etc opened briefly, they found it hard to get staff off the sofas and back into the workplace - and it will be even worse in future.

The only good bit is that we have savings, because there was nothing to spend the wages on. The there was no joy to be had in anything - not at work which was just stressful, not at home where every was cooped up, and no leisure activates to speak of.

Obligation? ***** ****** ****** that.

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Agreed. The 08 crash had a worse effect than what were experiencing now. The difference now is that we will be in a position to go back to normal.

Post bust, there was no money to do anything. We had 14 percent unemployment and no chance to recover back then. Things will be a little different such as more wfh, so I'd actually expect improvements.

I don't know, when the ball starts rolling again a whole heap of retail will shut permanently, tens of thousands will be unable to pay mortgages, I feel it's going to be much worse than 2008.

Leg End Reject wrote: »

I can't wait for normality and freedom again. I'll probably lick the counter while waiting on my first drink in a pub.

Plenty of single men who haven't had the ride in ages would probably be turned on by a woman licking a counter.

Richard Hillman wrote: »

A become apoplectic when I hear the GDP figures getting celebrated. They are not real figures. Who gives a **** if Google, Amazon etc are doing well. They employ barely anybody and pay **** all tax.

Your real GDP is in your shopping centres, main streets, shops, hotels, pubs, restaurants. Huge employers. That's your real economy. Not leprechaun-economics of GDP.

They employ barely anybody? Google alone has a 7,000 person workforce in Ireland and continually expanding. That would put them as one of the largest employers in Ireland.

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

They employ barely anybody? Google alone has a 7,000 person workforce in Ireland and continually expanding. That would put them as one of the largest employers in Ireland.

As a sole employer yes, but if Google fails we'll be fine. If the retail and hospitality industries fail, we are in big trouble. 7000 on the grand scale is very little and they are very employable people and have a large workforce of people not from the EU.

If an entire industry fails that employs tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands that is a big big problem. And that is what we are facing. Just look at Henry Street in Dublin. Debenhams is gone, a massive retail space with nobody to replace it. Jervis Street is now in trouble with the arcadia stores gone. Dundrum has lost House of Fraser, with only a taker for half of the premises (if Brown Thomas decide to still proceed) the other half is up in the air.

But hey, the GDP figures are good.