How Did the Corona Crisis Change the Job Market?

Thus, one can still classify the corona crisis as an unpredictable event. After all, for the vast majority of the world population (basically, for anyone who is not familiar with epidemiological studies over bats), it was unpredictable.

The corona crisis largely affected the job market. It prompted businesses to move online much faster than they would otherwise do. It also changed the way remote working was viewed by public opinion. Namely, working from home has suddenly become the default option rather than one of the alternatives.

So, how can we limit the influence of unpredictable events on our professional lives and our professional development? Well, we can’t do too much, simply because we can’t brace ourselves for events that we can’t even imagine.

The only possible precaution is to acquire some sort of financial cushion. In that case, even if these global calamities change our professional plans, they still cannot shake our sense of personal safety.

New Technologies: The Semi-Predictable Part of the Job Market Dynamics.

The second group of factors are the global moves in the job market triggered by the development of new technologies. Tech is a double-sided stick. On the one hand, it facilitates the creation of new jobs in the job market. On the other hand, it makes many professions obsolete.

For instance, today, millions of people work remotely from home including work on their professional development. It is not necessarily because of the crisis, but because they consciously chose online jobs.

Some of them followed Tim Ferriss’ philosophy introduced in his famous book, “The 4-Hour Work Week.” They aim to reduce their working time to the minimum and become “the New Rich,” namely, the individuals rich in quality time and not necessarily in cash. Others choose remote jobs just because they enjoy the flexibility that remote jobs offer. 

The Internet created thousands of new professions, from (social) media, through e-commerce, online banking and payment systems, to online education and coaching. However, as the machine of globalization, the Internet also eliminated thousands of professions. 

For instance, as of today, you probably use Google to plan your vacation rather than walking into the office of the nearest travel agent. In the era of apps such as Uber, taxi dispatchers are no longer necessary. Instead of telemarketers, we have online campaigns optimized per user based on Cookies and online activity. And so the list goes on.

So, How To Predict How New Technologies Will Shape the Job Market?

Are these factors predictable? To a certain extent — yes! When new technology becomes popular, it usually leads to the birth of new services and products. For instance, a few years ago, virtual reality and associated gear such as head-mounted VR goggles were created in the gaming industry.

Today, VR serves to stream online conferences in 3D (for example, check out Beemup in the Netherlands), create audiovisual arts, or train soldiers in the military. In the times of digitization in business, further progress in VR adoption is predictable.

As soon as the tech giants such as Apple or Google produce an affordable, pocket version of the VR headset (in the range of 100 EUR/USD or less), its use will be massively adopted around the globe. For instance, with the purpose to:

1. Present real estate to (foreign) buyers so that they can purchase properties online without the necessity to visit the property in person,
2. Give more efficient online dancing classes,
3. Create an alternative to traveling to people who are physically handicapped.

All these future services are easy to predict. It’s just a matter of time before they will appear on the market.