e is for Everything: Online services in a post-pandemic world

Since the beginning of the pandemic, and all the more so since the end of restrictions, the debate about working from home has become one of the dominant topics in the media. Some think that remote work is a problem, that it leads to slacking and loss of team morale. Others point to studies that show it boosts productivity and improves work-life balance, and either way, the debate is set to continue. But working from home is merely part of the story. After a few years of looking at the world differently, more and more of us are taking more of our lives online.

Of course, online services existed before the pandemic, as indeed did remote working. But because it became a necessity for so many of us to move more into cyberspace, many of us have found that it has its advantages even when everything has opened up again. It’s now fair to ask whether this means that regardless of Covid, the future is going to be increasingly about what services can be moved to a digital setting.

Healthcare

It became obvious early in the pandemic that routine GP appointments would be next to impossible in view of the restrictions. Given the greater danger to patients with existing health issues, there was an immediate rise in telephone appointments and online video calls to our doctors. There has been a rise in the use of online GP services, even when they have to be paid for, because it’s not easy to get an appointment at your usual health centre. 

Some healthcare will obviously need to be delivered in person no matter how much technology improves - but as we’ve previously noted, online therapy is growing. Alongside improvements in online prescribing, routine non-urgent care may be one of the best uses of the video call technology that has helped us through the pandemic.

iGaming

One of the greatest reliefs of the first year of the pandemic, for many, came when sports teams began to return to the field of play. Although it took a while to get crowds back in stadiums, watching football and other sports took a lot of minds off the dire situation. And, perhaps encouraged by the wealth of teams wearing bookmakers’ logos on their shirts, more and more of us placed bets at bookmakers and casinos like these options. That’s an option that has stayed with us since the reopening.

There are some considerable advantages to using iGaming options ahead of going to betting shops and casinos. These include the fact that you can follow games and place bets in real time, and such services even offer a social aspect now through live casino software.

Business

Yes, working from home was part of the business reaction to the pandemic, and some employers have continued to offer it as an option while others have stipulated a return to the office. However, the use of technology like Zoom and Microsoft Teams was in place before lockdown, and has its uses even after it.

We know that business is more international than ever, and business trips are still a thing. But given the impact on our environment from flying - and the part international travel played in worsening the pandemic - video meetings can easily take the place of many of those trips. Company calls to a partner in Seoul or Los Angeles may have to take account of time differences, but they can be a much more efficient way of sealing a deal and forging international alliances, and they’ll save time, money and possibly even the planet too.

There are of course those who have concerns that by going online for more services - we haven’t even mentioned how the weekly “big shop” is increasingly turning up on our doorsteps without us needing to go to a supermarket - we’ll lose out on something. It continues to be true that we need to meet people and expand our horizons beyond our homes. 

But some of what we have discovered as a result of the pandemic will make life easier for those who already had restrictions on where they could go, and that shouldn’t be forgotten. It’s hard to deny that this digital revolution will open up new worlds for millions of people, so it’s not something we should condemn out of hand.