With all the market places, schools and workplaces shutting down, social distancing has become quintessential to prevent Covid-19 from spreading among humans. This concept can surely prevent infection but it has substantially increased corona-virus anxiety all around the world.
Before jumping to the main threads of this post, let us first understand what COVID-19 exactly means.
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19, also known as novel corona-virus, is an infectious and incurable disease that causes acute respiratory illness. People with COVID-19 have been reported with symptoms such as cold, cough, fever and in severe cases, difficulty in breathing and death. Corona-virus is a group of various types of viruses formed together in a crown-like shape with spikes-like projections on its surface. This gives us the reason for being called ‘Corona’ – one that looks like a crown.
Like many other viruses, deadly COVID-19 is thought to have come from animals, most probably from bats. It was first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has since spread across the world leading to global corona-virus pandemic as declared by WHO (World Health Organization).
COVID-19 is rapidly changing the lives of human beings. It has increased widespread panic and anxiety among humans. Various countries have shut down their transportation systems to prevent further spreading. In China, approximately 760 million people were restricted to homes and infected people were being isolated for treatment. While tracking the spread of COVID-19, Times of India (TOI) proclaimed that there are 3,248 deaths and 80,967 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China itself. Around 6,801 deaths are confirmed and 164,693 are infected across the world. In India, 195 confirmed cases are reported till now and total death count limits to 4.
Virus mask Asian woman travel wearing face protection in prevention for corona-virus in India. Lady walking in public space bus station or airport.
Impact of COVID-19 on India’s Economic Life
With novel corona-virus rapidly spreading worldwide, India’s economy has been crippling badly. Let us consider its effects one by one:
Travel and Tourism Industry
Government has recently suspended all tourist visas until April 15 and decided to quarantine travellers to combat the spread of virus. Several international and domestic cancellations have also been reported. This has adversely affected the travel and tourism industry of India.
“Foreign Tourist arrivals have significantly decreased by up to more than 65% annually in the January-March quarter, while domestic tourists are fewer by about 40%”, said Pronab Sarkar, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.
Hospitality Sector
People are becoming more and more cautious to avoid crowded places, the hospitality sector in India is crippling. The number of people visiting in shopping malls has declined by up to 20% in several parts of the country. In some states, authorities have mandated to close the shopping malls and multiplexes to avoid social gatherings of people.
About 40% decline has been reported in customers at eating places like restaurants and cafes, according to FHRAI (Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India). Hotels in major cities are only left with empty rooms. Various state governments have ordered the closure of cinemas.
All these circumstances have drastically impacted the Indian hospitality sector.
Fall in Poultry
The outbreak of this fatal virus has developed fear in people to consume meat products as the virus emerged from a poultry market in Wuhan, China. Many people have entirely cut out meat products from their diet as a preventive measure.
According to some industry sources, about 30% of decline has been reported in demand for chicken. Due to this decline, its wholesale price has slowed down by around 70%, leading to the availability of chicken at Rs. 100-150 per Kg. A farmer in Karnataka decided to bury around 6,000 chickens alive in a pit due to corona virus outbreak.
According to Giriraj Singh, “the Union Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, the poultry industry is losing Rs. 1,500 to 2,000 cr. daily”.
Impact on Employment
To efficiently combat the spread of corona virus, mostly firms have delayed their hiring process.
More than 30% drop in hiring is estimated due to corona-virus outbreak. Many businesses and companies have laid off their employees. According to reports, OYO and Zomato have started dismissing their employees.
Cab services are also witnessing a drop in demand as people are avoiding it.
Many people have lost their source of income. The biggest impact is on the people involved in tourism and transportation, contract workers and people owning small businesses.
As a matter of fact, several major companies have already initiated remote work policies for their employees to control the spread of corona-virus.
According to a report, around 10,000 employees in Ford were asked to work from home in India. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has also directed all its employees to work from home.
Now the question arises, Is work from home a great idea? Is it going to benefit your employees?
Let’s find out…
5 Disadvantages of Work From Home You Must Know
Although it is advisable to work from home in such a pandemic, yet certain disadvantages come with this concept. Let us have a look at them properly.
More Distractions and Less Concentration
Most places are usually designed for planning, organizing, directing and controlling things that ensures smooth functioning of the organization. All these purposes are hard to accomplish within the four walls of the home.
Employees remain more focused on their work at the office rather than at their homes. It is a bit challenging task to concentrate on work at home with several distractions that might include noisy neighbors, salespeople, disturbing pets, family members, friends popping in, etc.
Expensive Communication
If you are working from home, you will highly rely on emails, video calls and online meetings with your colleagues or team members. You are most likely to use your mobile phones to communicate with your colleagues to get important information, data or even small guidance. All these things will surely increase your telecommunication and internet charges.
Moreover, it can be more difficult to solve or fix problems over the phone and it may take a longer time as compared to in-office, leading to frustration and irritability.
Lack of Productivity
By this concept of work from home, it will be difficult to monitor staff’s performance, as they are not at the same office space. They will not have a boss keeping an eye over their work all day long. Thus, without a bit of pressure, much work may not be done as compared to being in office.
Moreover, it is hard to organize and motivate yourself while you are working from home. All these circumstances will surely affect the productivity of employees.
Decrease in Collaboration
It is easier to sit next to the person and get things solved and done rather than doing it on emails, video calls or over the telephone. There will be less interaction between employees while they are working from home due to the limited number of options for communication. This can make collaboration harder.
No Access to Office Equipment and Documents
Work from home ensures flexibility of time to the employees, yet it is difficult for them to access specific office equipment and documents that are essential in their work. The employees may have to visit the office several times for paper documents and specific equipment such as projectors, fax machines, etc. This can put them into uncomfortable working situations and may develop frustration among them.
5 Advantages of choosing a Managed Office Space
With corona-virus pandemic, managed office spaces can be incredibly beneficial to your business. Managed offices of flexible workspaces are designed, operated and managed by a third-party provider that gives you access to the office and other in-house facilities. They can rent out a single office or the entire building to their customers. Here’s how managed spaces can help you out to tackle with COVID-19.
Helps in Calming Anxiety
These office spaces are well furnished according to your needs and desires. There are proper ventilation systems and various plants within the space to ensure improved air quality. It will be a great effort to be close to nature and to calm anxiety among employees, especially in such a global pandemic.
Helps in Avoiding Isolation
To prevent further spread of COVID-19, people are asked to stay at home to avoid contact with other people as much as possible. This is leading to increased cases of stress, depression, fear and isolation among people.
Managed office spaces can help you to fight with your isolation and do your work in a more motivated environment. You can opt to talk with the employees you trust more about your concerns and feelings. In this way, you can play a major role in reducing stress in yourself as well as in others.
Increasing Awareness
You must be aware of this global pandemic that can be achieved primarily through social interaction. When people in managed office spaces will interact with each other, it will lead to increased awareness among people about corona-virus, as there will be an exchange of information, facts, and experiences. Your awareness cannot only help you to protect yourself but also others from this widespread panic.
Increased Productivity: Work from home can steal a lot of time that can lead to reduced focus and productivity. Managed office spaces can help you to bring all your staff members under one roof. This will increase their interaction, collaboration, and teamwork. They will remain motivated leading to increased work productivity.
Availability to Basic Facilities
Due to COVID-19, several companies have directed their employees to work from home. In this case, employees are not able to access basic equipment and facilities required for their work. These may include storage lockers, fax machines, printers, xerox machines, projectors, etc. Such a piece of equipment is not necessarily present in the employer’s home. As managed office spaces are highly customizable, you can include all these facilities and equipment so that the employees can focus on their work.
Final Thoughts
Confining ourselves to our homes can adversely affect our mental health as it may make us feel lonely, anxious and depresses. It is difficult to cope with social distancing especially for people suffering from mental illnesses like depression.
Let us not allow COVID-19 to rule out on our minds and ruin our work and choose a fully-furnished managed office and carry out your business operations in a safe and Eco-friendly environment.
Visit https://empowerers.city/ to avail high-end flexible office for your mushrooming business without breaking your bank.
