COVID-19 presents us with one-in-a-lifetime challenges, without a doubt, but in doing so it conceals once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.  We are at a potential turning point in history!  The opportunity within the COVID-19 challenge is to reset, reassess and re-imagine the future.

R1: Reset

We’re already well into the reset phase, with new social norms and terms like “self-quarantine” and “social distancing” having entered our vocabulary.  As a society, we’ll be stuck in this phase for a while yet as we work to control the spread of the virus.  As individuals, we’ll need to let go of our old expectations of how the world works.  Another way to understand the reset phase is that we’re finding our “new normal.” 

We won’t know what that is until the pace of rule changes settles down and the rate of new cases of COVID-19 stabilizes.  We’ll then be able to reset our understanding of our lifestyles, of our habits, our work, our leisure activities, our health care system, our public transportation and other services, etc.  This outward-facing concept of our world is a complete reset of our baseline.  There will be a before and after, as with any other major event on a global scale like this.

Soteria120 has a role to play here.  We are already providing support with our COVID-19 Business Survival Guide that we’re offering as a free public service.  We are working with industry and government partners to increase the availability of this tool.  It is especially effective at validating what users know and believe about the pandemic and the measures they can take to reduce the risk to themselves and others.  There are lots of great sources of information available and a lot of companies helping out.  But no other tool does this.

R2: Reassess

As we start to settle in to this new normal—whatever that actually ends up being, we will begin to reassess.  This reassessment is personal and inward-looking.  It means our perception of ourselves in relation to the world changes.  Who we are changes.  For many people, the work they used to do will no longer be available.  We will need to re-train workers for new professions.  The reassessment process will be painful for some as they struggle to find stability, let alone find their place in this new environment. 

Soteria120 can truly help here.  Because our system uses a low-friction approach to building and reinforcing consistent habits it provides some of the structure that we will all need as we re-assess our place in the “new normal.”  It’s ideal for re-training workers, and we’re working on industry-level opportunities to help restructure our workforce affordably and effectively.  We can also help with the introspective, psychological challenges that have already been recognized as one of the side-effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

R3: Reimagine

When the world gets this viral contagion under control and our risk decreases enough that we can start to emerge and begin rebuilding our lives and our economies we will have a rare opportunity to reimagine the future on a massive scale.  This is where we can turn to seeking out positives from this tragedy.  This is where it really gets exciting for society and for Soteria120.

We’ll be reimagining many aspects of our personal and work lives.  Is remote working/working from home here to stay?  Will the way we manage team and individual performance change?  Will the new skillsets and new requirements for safety, compliance, hygiene change the way we work and live?  Will we continue to accept the conventional wisdom when it comes to how we train and prepare our workforce?

Then there’s where Soteria120 takes workplace learning to the next level: will we still think about risk management in the same way? 

Click here to see how we’re reimagining workplace risk, and see if you agree!