POST-PANDEMIC BLUES
THE WEEK India|August 14, 2022
As the world moves back to normalcy, the poster boys of the ‘new normal’ are facing their big reality check
K. SUNIL THOMAS
POST-PANDEMIC BLUES

Medha Deb Roy had just landed her first job when her father fell seriously ill in 2016. The world was not yet familiar with the term WFH, but she requested her employer to let her work from home so that she could care for him. “Luckily, the MNC I was working with was understanding, and did create the environment for me. My clients did not even realise I was working remotely,” she said.

However, reality hit when she moved to an Indian company, which refused her request. “I sensed a lack of trust,” she said. “It is also a sense of control, I guess, as a boss does not know what the junior is up to while working in a completely remote environment.”

When the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown gobsmacked the world in the summer of 2020, it brought with it some dramatic new ways of living. WFH suddenly became the de facto standard, with office workers of the world meeting on video conferencing apps like Zoom and children attending virtual classrooms. E-commerce sites and food delivery aggregators replaced shopping and eating out, while OTT platforms became the go-to modes of entertainment.

Two years down the line, however, as the world moves slowly back to normalcy, the poster boys of the ‘new normal’ are facing their big reality check. Across the spectrum, the big push is to get things back to the physical, to ‘how it used to be’.

Rather surprising, considering the predictions that were made about the tectonic shift in the ways in which we will live, work and play. So what exactly did change?

This story is from the August 14, 2022 edition of THE WEEK India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the August 14, 2022 edition of THE WEEK India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE WEEK INDIAView All
War Over Wounded Earth
THE WEEK India

War Over Wounded Earth

For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra

time-read
9 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Say no to continual elections
THE WEEK India

Say no to continual elections

Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Fabulously, fashionably funny
THE WEEK India

Fabulously, fashionably funny

The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
All in the family
THE WEEK India

All in the family

The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now

time-read
6 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
THE WEEK India

Raise a toast to Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Death no bar
THE WEEK India

Death no bar

Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
The Lotus POTUS
THE WEEK India

The Lotus POTUS

You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 10, 2024
RAY OF HOPE
THE WEEK India

RAY OF HOPE

Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 10, 2024
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
THE WEEK India

LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK

AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
PRESSURE POINTS
THE WEEK India

PRESSURE POINTS

Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024