Editorial | Changes for better needed after Covid-19
- Measures that have brought forward technology and new ways of thinking about health and well-being will still have to be embraced
Companies that have learned the advantages of staff working from home are increasingly giving that option, either full-time or several days a week. Delivery firms were quick to take advantage of restrictions that have led to a boom in online ordering and shopping. School and tuition by video is not ideal for all learning circumstances, teacher and student contact sometimes being important, but it is now a proven alternative where necessary. Restaurants have had to come up with innovative ways to attract customers.
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Day-to-day living is similarly changing and we need to get used to it. Supermarkets, essential for providing everyday needs and therefore little affected on the business front, have still had to adapt to expectations and needs. Customers need to feel safe and assured, so innovations such as digital payments, self-checkout machines, wider aisles, congestion-easing measures at entrances and pay points and hygienic surface coverings are being adopted. To ensure a return for investment, shoppers are being encouraged to stay longer through interior designs that use calming colours and lighting and are atmospheric and welcoming.
Such changes are taking place across the retail sector and will similarly be needed when cinemas and other entertainment venues resume business. The travel industry also needs to adapt, reassessment being needed of how to deal with overcrowding and climate change. Past pandemics led to improvements in building standards and ensured health-driven architecture. The same has to apply to city planning, with more green spaces and ventilation. Covid-19 has negatively impacted many lives, but we have to use the disease to look not backwards, but to the future.