The Likely Impact of Coronavirus on My Job

As you’re no doubt aware, today’s Coronavirus pandemic is a world-altering development which is impacting our daily lives in ways we’ve never seen before – and is certain to change your future job and career prospects.

It’s changed our working lives, smashed the financial markets with the fastest bear market in history, and revealed which of our governments and international organisations are capable of handling a crisis.

You are probably already thinking about the impact of Coronavirus on your job and livelihood

Right now, we don’t know which month this medical and economic contagion, CoronaVirus Covid-19, will be declared “over”, never mind which week or day.

However, we do know it will be over at some point. And it’s worthwhile to think about the big picture before we get there.

What will the world look like when that time arrives? Where will the opportunities be? The dangers?

Who will decide your fate and where will the leadership come from?

There are many factors to consider, but here’s a short list of the key areas that will be most important going forward:

Globalisation

Globalisation is all about trading products, technology, information, and jobs across borders. Nations become more interdependent through free trade, with the winners benefiting from job opportunities and improved living standards and the losers experiencing the opposite.

That’s likely to change in the post-virus world.

China’s early struggles with Covid-19 has led to a belated realisation that having all our supply chains run through one country is a poor strategy.

Factory closings

Factory closings in afflicted areas left manufacturers, hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets, and retail stores without crucial inventories and products.

That’s why companies and governments are likely to insist on multiple, redundant supply chains going forward. Many key operations will soon be hosted much closer to home, either within the parent nation itself or under the leadership of nearby (and trustworthy) economic and political partners.

That means a more diverse, secure supply of materials, parts, finished goods and services. However, the cost of redundancy will mean a lower level of efficiency and lowered efficiency means higher costs in the end.

How would this diversification of supply chains affect your job and career going forward?

Western Leadership

The response of many Western governments has been a case of too little, too late. And for all the American talk of national security, their efforts appear to be well below average even compared to other Western countries.

So far, it’s not a good look for Team Western Democracy. Will there be a power shift to the East, seeing as how Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have responded best?

Are you and your Government prepared?

Not necessarily. While they may have been caught unprepared, Western governments should be doubly motivated to do better going forward.

As any sports fan knows, when a dominant team has just lost a game due to their own complacency, their next opponent often feels the full ferocity of their skills and ability.

That’s likely to be the case here. Even if they won’t admit it, Western governments and institutions are being hugely embarrassed right now and will react accordingly.

Aside from new supply chain efforts, look to see strengthened public policies and initiatives to maintain global primacy in the West. This means extra government spending and incentives to improve security, resilience and innovation.

Do you see any career opportunities arising from such a trend?

Overall Economic Prosperity and Job Prospects

Even after victory is declared, the Coronavirus’ aftershocks will continue to depress and reshape economic activity. A “V-shaped recovery” will likely be touted by many politicians, but in practice things are not going to go back to exactly the way they were.

After all, the entire world is now much more conscious of risk than before. Growth tends to be slower when people, businesses and governments are more concerned about risk. They spend less and save more. They think more carefully about where and when and how they invest.

That means the economy is likely to be less prosperous overall and certain opportunities will be more limited.

Some industries will boom, others will limp along before gradually recovering, and still others will go bust.

Some jobs being lost today might not come back for a long time. Or maybe never, since there will indeed be winners and losers as the globe reshapes its manufacturing and trade priorities.

Wouldn’t it be best to start preparing now in case your industry, company, or job happens to be one of the unlucky ones?

Are you going to be one of the lucky ones?

From Crisis Comes Opportunity

Governments are well known for never letting a good crisis go to waste. They use crises as opportunities to implement new policies, many of which involve seizing new power and exerting more control.

But you can do the same if you think ahead. Why let a good crisis go to waste? Why not think about empowering yourself and taking steps to improve your job and career prospects?

It all starts with your own initiative to think about the kind of life you want going forward.

What’s your career purpose in this world? What do you really want to do?

Times of crisis create massive opportunities for change. You may already be thinking that you wish to do something different going forward. This is your opportunity to find and do your thing so that you fulfill your career purpose going forward.

We can help you take the all-important first steps. Just complete the form on this page explaining your current situation and dilemma and we’ll get back to you.