by Emanoil Draganescu
Yesterday, checking the calendar for the next week, I realised, that COVID-19 changed my world in one particular manner that I did not expect before. Let me tell you something, I am a person that used to meet people, especially after hours. I used to hang out with friends, clients, go to the gym and meet people there. Sometimes I used to eat out before getting home and I used to waste time in malls. Now I spend a lot of time in WFH and I no longer need to get out. I travel less.
My world became in fact smaller
I know how it sounds, but is real. Look around you and you will notice that, we really use less physical space.
We meet less people. We travel less. We hang out less. We use fewer hotels rooms. Somehow our world is smaller. Physically smaller. Our need for space declined.
Our mobility is now virtual. In a virtual world, you can pack more people, without any space constraints.
When I was a child I was reading an article about wealth. The conclusion of that article was that physical space could be used as a measure of life standard. Wealthy people tend to use more space. Bigger houses, bigger cars, more food, more access, larger peer groups and so on.
It is about space
The same goes true for the animal kingdom. Happy animals have larger spaces. A fish in an ocean has all the opportunities. The ocean is huge.
And the ocean, it is packed with danger, but it is also packed with freedom and opportunities. We know that animals evolve because they have to adapt to a changing environment. Small spaces can provide some safety and security. A fish-tank provides some sort of safety, but fewer opportunities, less breeding chances, less evolution and so on.
Now let’s think about our environment. I am not sure if a “virtual ocean” can provide the same amount of opportunity. A virtual ocean is a controlled environment. Of course, we are not fishes and we do not live in tanks. Or are we?
Similarly organisational spaces become smaller. I am going to explain that: smaller office spaces, smaller peer groups and less interactions with colleagues. Not only your teammates, but less interaction with colleagues from other departments. Less parking spaces. Less costs. Less. The company is now less. The company is now a computer screen. Maybe I am exaggerating, but one question comes to mind.
Is this virus a danger in the ocean, or just another wall-glass in what used to be an ocean and now becomes a large number of fish-tanks? Probably some will argue, but can you grow a whale in a tank? Because I seriously doubt. And I love whales! Do you have comments? Leave it here.