The pandemic has surpassed and exceeded all the predictions on how bad it can get. It has stopped multiple activities from happening in person. Offices, schools, and general gatherings became highly discouraged and even restricted considering the nature of the virus. Spending a room with someone infected for even a few minutes exposes everyone in the room.
According to the country’s leading doctors, the risk runs high for people residing or working at the same place as someone who has contracted COVID 19. The deadly virus easily infects the most vulnerable. The United States currently ranks first in the number of cases worldwide, with 32.8 million infections and 3.3 million deaths. While the country has fully vaccinated a third of the population, we still have a long way to go.
The sentiment against the safety of vaccines and their efficacy runs high among a portion of the population. Conspiracy about the entire pandemic is running wild among those who believe in Big Brother controlling the population. There are many people hesitant to get the vaccine because of the concerns regarding the speed by which it was made. The development and the distribution of the vaccines, along with doubts on their efficacy, are all factors that fuel the misinformation machine.
There is no stopping the efforts to go back to normal. Millions of parents are already begging for children to go back to physically meeting for school. The target for the U.S. government is for every American to get inoculated as fast as possible to quickly return to normalcy. People are already calling the transition post-pandemic into the new-normal as nothing will ever return to the way it was pre-pandemic. The skillset needed to succeed in the pre-pandemic world has already changed.
What are the skills needed to succeed in the new normal society?
Communication Skills
The communication skill set needed in the world of the new normal has definitely changed. We were taught during our stay in high school that we needed to communicate our concerns immediately when we had something on our minds. However, the COVID pandemic has prevented normal human interactions from happening. Because of technology barriers, we were forced to transmit what we want to communicate through artificial means. Communication skills are to be reviewed and reevaluated because of the different methods we use through the pandemic and the new normal.
Time-Management Skills
While it is unusual, we even have less time during the pandemic and the new normal. Most of us are indeed forced to work from the safety and comforts of our own homes. However, due to the reality of working from one’s home, a lot more is actually given the way of the employees. Aside from that, chores usually abound people who generally stay at home more. Since everyone is staying at home, maintaining and doing upkeep for the house became even more difficult. It does not help that the people staying together have become familiar with each other’s quirks and nasty habits.
Practical Skills
Practical career skills are very much needed in the world of the new normal. Since people had a lot of free time when the country was placed under lockdown, more people spent time learning practical or life skills. It is definitely advantageous since the art of being self-sufficient was allegedly being taken away by modernity. Practical skills such as basic carpentry, cooking, cleaning, and other house chores are the main picks for practical skills. Even better, more people got into activities that they normally wouldn’t even touch. Skills such as dancing, running, and swimming were secondary options for those who were trying to explore their more adventurous side.
Critical Thinking Skills
Even before the pandemic, critical thinking has become so sought after by various companies, private offices, and public ones. The new normal world needs people who think, rationalize, and analyze deliberately. Critical thinking is a difficult skill to learn, even with guidance. There are a lot of people out there who claim to be critical thinkers but are actually not. Critically thinking people think before they even act. They rationalize each question and answer properly. They analyze the results and the consequences of their actions. It is no small feat to be a critical thinker.
Nothing will ever be the same post-pandemic. Amidst the uncertainty surrounding the new normal, we can only hope to survive such a new frontier. The adjustment will be hard. But with the right mindset and attitude, we will get to our goals and targets – both as private individuals and as a society.
