Exploring the Future of Everything
Sunday, July 25th, 2021
The early days of March 2020, seem a bit hazy in the rearview mirror.
If I sit for a moment, the feelings of uncertainty that lingered over all of us as we faced a pandemic head on come rushing back. I can remember asking myself over and over again, “Is this really happening right now? Are we really in a global pandemic?!” It was all so surreal.
A lot has changed since March of 2020, and so much will never be the same. In some ways it’s difficult to remember what “normal” even felt like pre-COVID.
Out of sheer necessity, our use of technology leapt forward as we figured out ways to stay connected, to keep working and educating our children even as we isolated from one another in the physical space.
As we’re emerging from our caves, it’s becoming very clear that the culture of work has shifted. While some are ready for everything to return to full capacity, there are many who found benefit to the reduced commute times and newly realized work-life balance. Some companies are reducing their overhead by scaling down their physical offices and implementing full-time remote work policies, while some evaluate hybrid work plans, and still others have intentions of going right back to full-time traditional office hours in an office space, just like the old days.
Education was particularly challenging as schools attempted to deliver teachings via virtual classrooms, often times with half the class in person and the other fully remote. A delicate balance of classroom management that no teacher was trained for. Some students excelled in the new environment, free from the distractions of the classroom, while others greatly suffered from the lack of social interaction. Some teachers pivoted quickly and efficiently to the new means of engagement, while others struggled to deliver content virtually. And all of it brought the concept of childcare as infrastructure to the forefront. How does a family that needs two incomes (or the only income!) to thrive, let alone survive, manage childcare when the children have to be educated at home or when the school schedules are unpredictable? How many workers had to leave the workforce altogether in order to provide support at home?
Telemedicine was also on the rise, the only way to interact with a healthcare provider at the height of the pandemic in many instances, if you weren’t testing for COVID-19. Some patients found the idea of a virtual visit appealing, minus the commute, the wait times, or the interaction with other potentially ill patients, while others avoided the doctor altogether, perhaps finding the technology cumbersome or the virtual experience too impersonal.
In the face of all of these technological leaps, the pandemic sharply highlighted lack of access to technology and broadband, as well as personal preferences for in person versus virtual interactions. It is clear that as we move towards some semblance of normalcy, there is also a reckoning of priorities and preferences.
In the 15th year of the Pattern Fellows program, we find ourselves on the other side of the height of the Pandemic. This year, the Pattern Fellows will explore sector by sector how we have changed since the onset of COVID-19. Where were we? What happened, and what does our new “normal” look like?
It’s going to be a fascinating discussion of the “Future of Everything.”
