Hybrid Is The New Normal

Nobody was prepared for Covid-19. This time last year we were traveling, enjoying holidays, going out with friends, meeting loved ones, and conducting face to face meetings. And then our world changed.

- Ken Wong

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

We thought we were ready to deal with disruptions like Covid-19 after going through SARS. The pandemic of 2003 saw some changes to work like the adoption of conferencing technology, the beginnings of a disparate and spread out workforce, and sowed the seeds of a work from home idea.

But reality set in when we found that technology couldn’t quite deliver on what they were promising.

Broadband speeds were enough to deliver good voice communication, but video was lacking unless you were prepared to splurge on the most expensive telepresence suites. Working outside of the office was difficult with limited internet coverage and mobile data couldn’t be relied on; coverage was spotty since 4G wasn’t an option then.

Fortunately, we were able to deal with SARS in a less than a year and kept the number of lives lost as low as possible.

And we also returned to the old ways of work with face to face meetings and work travel resuming without global lockdowns and restrictions.

THE BAD NEW DAYS

And then Covid-19 arrived and the world turned again.

As the pandemic hit more countries and people, events worldwide began to be cancelled and moved increasingly online. Business travel was hit and eventually all travel was stopped. And as things became more severe, Governments worldwide began ordering shutdowns and ordering us to work from home.

Singapore was no exception and businesses and workers in the country began to prepare for the changes Covid-19 would be bringing.

BUSINESSES GO DIGITAL