Just a year ago I wrote on my wall: “We wish you happy holidays and for sure this year 2020 will be unforgettable”, I certainly did not know that the last 5 words would mark us as never before. We are now almost a year away from the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiously awaiting the application of the vaccine to return to the “new normal”.
I have talked to friends, work colleagues, directors, doctors, attended forums and more in order to see what this 2020 left us with, each one was marked differently. You can summarize GSB’ s learnings as follows:
- The incredible adaptability we have as human beings. We went from being in an office to working at home.
- Get to know us better. Despite not living together as before, with the forced videoconferences we were forced to be “closer” to people. Personally, living with the family, before it was 12 to 14 hours away from home, now it has become 24 hours at home.
- Overcoming fears. Many entrepreneurs, directors, managers, bosses, leaders, did not believe in the home office and only until the situation forced them to do it could they understand its value.
- Confidence increased. Productivity is no longer measured in office hours but in results.
- Cost reduction in offices. Expenses were reduced by avoiding commuting, meals away from home, among others.
- Discover that instead of wasting 2 hours or more in traffic you can spend it training, reading, exercising, enjoying your family and much more.
- Although hygiene is something that should always be present in our daily lives, many people forget, now more people wash their hands, use alcohol gel and other preventive measures that emerged during the pandemic.
- Due to the confinement, the use of apps for online shopping, such as food and other products more than doubled in many countries.
- Travel for pleasure and work stopped drastically, this changed the way we relate to each other and even the way we do business. Not being able to be with your loved ones or being able to sign a contract was quite a learning experience.
- Incredible support and synergy achieved: at home, with your work team, family and friends. We are here because we know we can count on someone.
With all this it is clear to me that nothing is written and life goes on, I quote Cardinal John Henry Newman: “In a higher world it may be otherwise, but here below, to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed many times”.
Eng. Ben Orta
Managing Director GSB
