WFH, the new normal.
This was my submission for a National Level Creative Writing Competition on the topic “Technological Scenario Beyond Covid-19” conducted by Sir M Visvesveraya Institute of Technology on 20 Jun 2020. We were limited to a 300–350 worded article. There were around ~45 participants and I won the third place for this.
Until a few months ago, if one would’ve asked me the abbreviation of WFH, I would probably think of “We fly high?”. Now with my brain bombarded with COVID related news every millisecond, I can’t fathom anything apart from “Work from home”. It’s just everywhere lately.
I now transcend into a time post-COVID. Being a tech enthusiast, I wonder how it would impact everything Tech. In this world/time, we would work for five days a week in the office and the following week from home. Hence on any working day, it is just half the staff in the office. This means saving on the transport, utility bills, food (obviously for the company, not employees). People who stay at home are relaxed ergo distracted. OTT platforms and other cloud-based applications are one of the fastest-growing industries. In addition to this, other services like doctor consultation, plumbers, tank cleaners, house-maids, etc, can be procured online. In other words, any software/idea that prevents a person from venturing out from their homes sees a high rise. Implementation of contactless technology such as drone delivery and autonomous driving taxis is something to look forward to.
With people spending more time at their homes, gaming applications, online yoga, virtual meditation, online learning is proliferating. One of the most interesting outcomes of the efforts to prevent people from traveling would be the concept of “virtual tours”. We can experience the breath-taking Alps, the magnificent Notre Dame, or the sacred temple of Kedarnath, virtually. All of this implies we are using our laptops/phones/headphones more than ever. So, gadgets are now jam packed with additional features, memory, bigger screen, better graphics, and any other feature worth showing off on a television commercial of the product.
At the same time, there was a visible disruption in the supply chain especially electronics. This raised red flags to the governments who were embarrassingly dependent on other countries. They decided to make themselves “free market” economies, not just on the books but meaning it. I shuddered at this thought even in my imagination and woke up and proceeded to work…. from home.
PS,
Just to clarify, this article is completely from my perspective; I tried to demonstrate the Tech scene after COVID as an imaginary world/time (hence the present/past tense rather than future tense).
India is a free market economy. But not really. It’s almost impossible to start an industry/company/commercial establishment without bribing the bureaucrats. It’s also a hassle to get proper documents from the govt. offices. So, in reality, nothing happens without the intervention of the government or their mostly immoral officials.
