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Dan Smolen believes that good health and future work will be informed by pandemic responses.
As 2021 draws to a close, the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus has spread like wildfire. And clear to many people now is this: because about a one-third of the nation remains unvaccinated, we will, for the foreseeable future, encounter more Covid variant outbreaks.
Good health and future work are inextricably linked. And that is, because, future variants will impact how and where we work.
We all want good health. And it is among our new year’s wishes to loved ones and friends. But, as a nation we lack the resolve of previous generations to respond to pandemics. Once, we mass vaccinated against Polio Militis and other diseases, thus eradicating them. However, with over 100 million Americans unwilling to vaccinate, we are ensured a future in which Covid becomes endemic.
Our guest earlier this year, infectious disease expert Dr. Rob Citronberg, predicted that annual Covid booster shots are most definitely in our future. And that is, because:
“This [Covid-19] is not going away. In fact, there is no doubt that it is going to become endemic.”
To that end, there are implications for our good health and future work.
Workforce professionals who once may have reliably returned to co-locations will now opt for hybrid workplace venues. How people engage during the workday will change as well. And hiring managers now must learn how to adapt and embrace a new way of engaging with, and leading, people.
During 2021, it took a pandemic turned endemic to turn the future of work present. And in 2022, breathtaking work and workplace changes will happen with all deliberate speed.
Whether you rolled up your sleeves to get Covid jabs or if you resisted, know that your choice fully informed the future of work. And, as a result, we are never going back to a pre-pandemic normal.
EPISODE DATE: December 31, 2021