No one saw 2020 coming. By the end of 2019, U.S. economists were talking about the prospect of full employment. We expected Brexit to dominate the news in Europe and Japan was ready to open its doors to the world as host of the Games. Olympic Summer Games.
Instead, COVID-19 took place.
The coronavirus, first described in January as a mysterious flu-like disease that is spreading in China, has crippled the world economy.
2020 puts our resilience to the test and forces the world to change the way of life and functions at the moment.
Every December, LinkedIn editors ask our community of influencers, top voices and regular contributors to share the great ideas that they believe will determine the coming year. This year, in the shadow of a pandemic, just in a century, we offer a variety of predictions and thoughts on where we are going from here: at work, at home and anywhere in between.
This is not a complete list, and we invite you to join us! What good ideas do you think will emerge in the coming year.
PS Take a look at my colleague George Anders' analysis of what we were - and badly - right in last year's Big Ideas predictions.
Check out our local great ideas for Australia, India, the UK, the Pacific and the Gulf regions.
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Yes, we have a vaccine. No, it does not leave us away from social distance
The potential to have a major impact on this pandemic is very real," said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota's Center for Research Policy and Infectious Diseases. "And it's all about a vaccine."
But there are some caveats. Although the first candidate vaccines are already going through the approval process, we will probably see two or three generations of vaccines in the next few years. A vaccination must not only be effective but also long lasting, which means that protection lasts for a long period of time.
Osterholm, an adviser to US President Joe Biden, stressed the importance of ensuring that low- and middle-income countries also have access to it; otherwise the virus will still cross borders.
Treatments and diagnoses are also likely to improve, which means mortality rates must continue to fall. But next year, it's likely to bring some frustration as well. "The launch of the vaccine will take longer than expected," said Greg Martin, a public health specialist in Dublin. in general access to it. With little political appetite for more locks and collective insanity, things could escalate even after a vaccine becomes available.
The office will fight to get you back
After a year of homework, the dynamics of power changed. Companies need to give employees a reason to return to the office. On offer? Spaces designed for what we have always missed: human connection and maybe even a little rest and relaxation.
“People are people who miss people the most. Personal contact in real life has credible value, ”says Liz Burow, former vice president of workplace strategy at WeWork. Either way, we will no longer meet with them five days a week.
This transformation will not be merely philosophical; It will also be physical.
The allotted seats have disappeared, says Brittney Van Matre, Nike's director of strategy and workplace. Nike surveys show that employees want to work in an office, but only twice a week.
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