A couple of weeks ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “Since German unification, no, since the Second World War, there has been no challenge to our nation that has demanded such a degree of common and united action.” The challenge she is speaking of is, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 disease has ravaged the world, leading to mass panic, extremely volatile financial markets, lockdowns or movement control orders in many countries and, most importantly, a direct adverse impact on lives and livelihoods of people.
Governments around the world have come up not just with public health measures to combat the spread of the pandemic but also economic relief measures to cushion the blow of the pandemic on livelihoods. On the 27th of March, Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled a stimulus package that aims to leave no one behind as the economy faces perhaps its most dire test.
Given the stakes, the consequences, and the money being spent on dealing with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, it can be argued that this is a landmark moment of sorts in human history. After all, if the German chancellor can say that the Covid-19 pandemic is Germany’s greatest challenge since World War 2, we should not underestimate the magnitude of this moment in history.
With that in mind, such moments in history come with far-reaching social consequences. Many have commented on the different aspects of this pandemic, from the public health measures in social distancing and flattening the curve, to the effectiveness of the economic relief measures undertaken by governments, as well as to the acceleration of digital technology in dealing with lockdowns and movement control orders. Here, I’d like to offer some predictions, some of them potentially far-fetched, of how social behaviours, at least in Malaysia, may change once the Covid-19 situation is more manageable or once a viable mass-produced vaccine is found. Here, I assume that the virus is never eradicated but remains transmissible. I could be entirely wrong with any or all of them, but let’s see.
Prediction 1: This increased awareness in hygiene is here to stay. Perhaps somewhat of a no-brainer prediction, but my sense is that hand sanitisers and the like are here to stay. We may also see a push for more automatic doors, taps, and other such devices which are typically touched by multitudes of people. This is a good thing.
Prediction 2: Buffets seriously need to change their business model. Infectious diseases spread easily in buffets because you have a situation where a bunch of people are touching the same serving tools. While there will be pent-up demand released onto the food and beverages industry once the Covid-19 situation becomes manageable, I think self-service buffets may continue to suffer. They may need to switch their model to table service buffets, which then incur higher costs on staff.
Prediction 3: People will avoid large gatherings at first, but only for a while. To be clear, by ‘large gatherings’, I mean gatherings of at least 100 people or so. The fear of the virus transmission will linger for a bit, and people will tend to avoid large gatherings. But after a while, with a more manageable Covid-19 situation, or with a vaccine, people will no longer fear transmission and Malaysians do have a culture and history of large gatherings, and we will revert to form, risking transmission.
Prediction 4: Social consciousness will increase. During the movement control order, we’ve seen Malaysians deliberately flout the rules of the order, sometimes for no reason at all. This is a form of the Tragedy of the Commons – what may be good (of fun) for an individual, may be detrimental to the commons. Fortunately, there are many other civic-minded Malaysians who have become more conscious of what the greater good entails, and I do hope that that will continue. Even if it is just a few more members of society.
Prediction 5: Respect for teachers will increase, but unfortunately, nothing will happen. I don’t have children, but the friends and colleagues who I talk to who do have a newfound deeper appreciation of teachers after being stuck at home with their children for close to a month. I have argued before that we need to pay teachers far more, not just because of their service and value as nation-builders, but because of the difficulties of their jobs in dealing with all these children. Sadly, it won’t happen. It should. The pay of teachers should be seriously hiked.
Prediction 6: We will have a new appreciation for who our heroes in society are. Healthcare professionals on the frontlines of dealing with the Covid-19 deserve all our gratitude and appreciation. So too are those who work in food supply or those who work in groceries. As are those who perform any and all sorts of essential services – street maintenance workers, police officers, delivery service workers, and much, much more. They all deserve so much more from society. It’s too bad we have an economic system that prioritises scarcity, and not value.
Prediction 7: Community activism is here to stay. If there is anything we learned, it’s that communities need to take care of each other, regardless of what governments or businesses do. It’s nice if governments or businesses helped, but ultimately, we have to rely on each other. Movements like #kitajagakita and other such initiatives need to be applauded and encouraged. I think (I hope?) they are here to stay even once Covid-19 becomes manageable as there are many still in society who require the support of the community.
Prediction 8: For non-essential work, Working from Home will take off. Many white-collar jobs, like, say, economists, are generally fairly non-essential. Or, at least, they really do not require us being rooted to an office. I think the nature of work for those types of jobs will change. And maybe the value that the economic system gives to such types of jobs should also change. In any case, we will probably see more flexible hours (or even working arrangements) for such jobs given the enforced work from home during the movement control order period.
Prediction 9: People will wear masks everywhere, especially in public. The WHO’s official guideline is that people carrying out day-to-day activities do not need to wear masks. Mask are, rather, for those who need to come in close contact with Covid-19 patients, such as frontline health workers and caregivers. Nonetheless, masks may provide peace of mind, and once the situation is more manageable, and there is no real risk of hoarding (in any case, people should not hoard), mask-wearing will be the norm rather than the exception.
All in all, a crisis of such magnitude is bound to have some deep-lasting consequences to societal behaviour. This impacts our customs and norms, which then impacts the way our Collective Brain functions. Understanding how social behaviour changes in response to such a crisis is also crucial in figuring out what comes next for us.