Some startups are inventing new ideas to keep us safe and sane. With the rise in telehealth, mental health services are offering sessions by video; robots are patrolling Covid-19 hotspots, like warehouses, that otherwise place essential workers at risk; and there are virtual games keeping us socially close while we’re physically distant. We’re seeing how there is no longer a separation between work and home (and, for many, there never was), so new services are supporting our family lives or making our work life more empathetic.
If you’re thriving in an unnatural way merely due to this crisis or you’re oblivious to the suffering your business may be causing, that’s when it starts to be a problem. For example, we’ve seen some bad behavior from businesses, including price gouging of essential goods and large or cash-heavy companies with access to private capital taking advantage of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds aimed at small businesses.
So many businesses right now are in survival mode, trying to keep as many of their people on payroll as possible. They’re recalibrating their numbers every week, sometimes several times a week, in order to stay alive for as long as possible. Faced with social distancing restrictions, some are adapting: Restaurants are now moving to delivery and curbside pickup, and apparel companies are manufacturing and selling masks. Some are putting on armor: letting go of people so the rest of the company can make it to the other side. And others are gathering arms: borrowing new money, fundraising, and applying for emergency relief loans and grants administered by the government.
It is survival indeed. The world's economy is in recession and organisations are struggling to survive. There are job losses here and there. We will survive.