There is a discernible silver lining in the otherwise ominously dark cloud of Covid-19: A whole new category of employment will emerge soon that will be both better for employees and employers.
I call it the interim economy.
The word “interim” literally translates from its Latin origins as “the time in between,” and for businesses the next two years will be a time in which they either adapt or disappear.
First, let’s lay our cards on the table: There’s no guarantee that a vaccine will be created, ever; 40 years on, an AIDS vaccine has yet to be found. Likewise, the probability of the U.S. reaching so-called herd immunity in a country the expanse and size of ours seems unlikely.
With the sudden, massive shift to remote work to stop the spread of the pandemic over the past few months, companies have found that working from home actually works: A recent study concluded that up to 40% of all jobs can be performed at home, while before the pandemic, it’s estimated that only 3% actually could be done remotely.
This trend was already afoot before the pandemic, but it was largely an opt-in lifestyle choice or confined mainly to the blue-collar service industry. When it came to white-collar and professional jobs, it was still the rare exception rather than the rule.