Question

1. a. what similarities and differences do you see between the 1918 flu pandemic and the current COVID-19 pandemic?

b. The 1918 flu pandemic had a huge impact on the world and history. What kind of impact do you think the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our future? (I'm more so asking what kind of societal or historical impacts you think the pandemic will have, not so much about the death tolls, etc.)

Answer 1

1) The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic. While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly. Whereas, COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020, and was recognised as a pandemic in March 2020. As of 8 October 2020, 36.3 million cases had been confirmed worldwide, and more than 1.05 million deaths had been attributed to COVID-19. The disease spreads most often when people are physically close. It spreads very easily and sustainably through the air, primarily via small droplets and sometimes in aerosols, as an infected person breathes, coughs, sneezes, talks, or sings. It may also be transmitted via contaminated surfaces, although this has not been conclusively demonstrated. It can spread for up to two days prior to symptom onset and from people who are asymptomatic. People remain infectious for seven to twelve days in moderate cases and up to two weeks in severe cases. Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, breathing difficulties, and loss of smell. Complications may include pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The incubation periodis typically around five days but may range from one to 14 days.There are several vaccine candidatesin development, although none have completed clinical trials to prove their safety and efficacy. There is no known specific antiviral medication, so primary treatment is currently symptomatic. Recommended preventive measures include hand washing, covering one's mouth when sneezing or coughing, social distancing, wearing a face mask in public, disinfecting surfaces, air filtering, and monitoring and self isolation for people exposed or with symptoms. Travel restrictions, lockdowns, workplace hazard controls, and facility closures have been implemented. Many places have also worked to increase testing capacity and trace contacts of the infected. The pandemic and response measures have contributed to social and economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression. Around 100 million people could fall into extreme poverty and global famines for 130 million people. It has led to the postponement or cancellation of events and widespread supply shortages, but also decreased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. Educational institutions have been partially or fully closed, with various altervatives used. Misinformation about the virus has circulated through the media. There have been many incidents of xenophobia and racismagainst Chinese people and against those perceived as being Chinese or as being from areas with high infection rates.
2) The world copes with the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, India Inc. too, has been working overtime, formulating its response to the crisis. With government regulations evolving in a bid to flatten the curve and economic disruption across industries, traditional ways of working have been usurped. To test our hypotheses, we studied 42 reputed Indian organisations through a combination of survey and 1:1 conversations with CXOs.
Most organisations have their operations roles idle due to work being linked to physical assets. 55% CXOs agreed that their IT infrastructure (availability of hardware, internet and remote access) fell short of facilitating a smooth transition to remote working. Closure of schools, lack of house support and inconvenient housing arrangements remain societal hindrances, being tackled jointly by the organisation and employees. 75% of CXOs said they did not have to invest in new platforms for virtual collaboration, instead, saw a surge in adoption of tech platforms. 60% of CXOs stated collaboration seems to have significantly increased/increased and decision making is more efficient, possibly due to greater structure and adherence in virtual meetings. 70% CXOs have reported no impact or increase in individual employee productivity.Disruption to the workplace has placed greater demand on certain roles, like Operations, IT and HR teams had to undertake concerted efforts to facilitate remote working.
Roles that require cognitive thinking or independent/project-based work have seen positive impact on productivity as employees manage their time more effectively. While the crisis has propelled greater focus on the physical wellbeing of employees, over70% of the organizations surveyed have set up helplines to counsel workforceand their families through the crisis and designed virtual engagement touch points for groups with higher risk of isolation anxiety. CXOs reported a 3X increase in training efforts, as organisations leverage virtual channels to impart future ready skills. 90% CXOs say workforce is putting in more working hours and there has been significantly less absenteeism, during the crisis. 72% CXOs also believe that the role of the team lead is going to be the most important in leading the organisation through the change, and that their managers are stepping up to the task. The pace at which people, businesses and public policy have changed has been slower than the pace of technology evolution. With the current crisis forcing change, CXOs answered in the affirmative on the acceleration of Future of Work. It has been due to a breakdown of legacy mindsets, digital adoption and new demands being placed on businesses and employees.The move from ‘responding to the crisis’ to ‘thriving in the new normal’ will depend on how successfully organisations take their learnings into the future. A COVID-adjusted Future of Work strategy is presented in the detailed report.