"Sociologists must find a name for the phenomenon of changes in work environments following the corona virus"

This is what Dr. Dan Ofir from the Department of Computer Science at Ariel University suggests in the article The Revolution and Changes in the Work Environment Following the Pandemic in accordance with the saying: "Necessity is the father of all invention"

By Dr. Dan Ophir, Department of Computer Science, Ariel University

We live in a time full of upheavals. These days, the world's population is going through a crisis - seemingly a health setback. There is a fear of epidemics similar to those of ancient times such as "smallpox", "malaria" and "tuberculosis". We overcame these diseases with the help of vaccines (Pasteur) and antibiotics (Fleming).

 Today, humanity is holding its breath (literally) - a deadly virus threatens, and what are the means of protection?! - A simple and effective means: "Loneliness". The medical concern gives its signals in the economic aspect. A large part of the population loses its job - its source of livelihood,

And here is the twist in the plot.

Reversing a trend - moving from the city to the village

Another part of the population is "forced" to "work from home". This fact causes a cultural revolution. We recall the industrial revolution that began with the invention of the steam engine - (Watt). This invention had the following consequences: the influx of the population from the countryside to the city, the professions of the residents changed - from an agrarian population, the society mostly moved to an industrialized society, and today, for example, about 3% of the US population provides food for an entire country (and in Israel even less than 2%), and even extract food.

Today, we are witnessing a new social phenomenon: the phenomenon of working from home - aside from the cessation of work for the rest of the employees, with the exception of exceptional - essential work areas. The loads and traffic jams - they are not now in the road networks, But in communication networks.

Here lies a quiet revolution, in which a small part of the population improved their working conditions, and a large part worsened their conditions, and what is expected in the long term?! The current situation is an opportunity for the professional conversion and upgrading of a part of the population that will lead to a far-reaching social change, which in the old days, could not be carried out due to government constraints that depend on the majority of the population, and in light of natural human conservatism.

Let's take for example academic institutions - universities -  human capital. The academic staff has mostly undergone a technical change from face-to-face lectures in lecture halls to working in front of computer screens from home. Regarding laboratories, based on advanced technological developments, a future solution of laboratory work by remote control will be found. On the other hand, some of the administrative staff went on leave.

the physical capital - Infrastructure: the buildings, the computing, the laboratories, the internal roads - remain desolate, useless.

If so, in front of the gloomy prospect of thousands of layoffs, there is also the prospect of savings in infrastructure construction: road network, public buildings, such as teaching buildings, banking buildings - offices, etc. have been emptied and it is assumed that they will be used for new purposes such as housing.

Now is the time for sociologists to enter virgin ground and pay attention to the process of social change that human society is going through and develop future behavioral models that correspond to the emerging new reality. One of the questions, in light of the formation of large pockets of unemployment, what will be the culture of leisure - entertainment,

Apparently, communication networks will have a significant role in stabilizing the leisure culture, end points will be found in the hands of the entire population, in their homes, and not in entertainment centers. Video conference meetings will replace face-to-face social meetings.

There is reason to assume that the direction of the migration of the population will be in the opposite direction to what it was in the days of the industrial revolution - this time, the movement will be From the city to the village.

We must think of a general name for the social processes taking place before our eyes. The suggestions are:The media revolution under the auspices of the 'corona' epidemic ”, or another name: "Let the 'Corona' (crown) be the 'Corona' (the virus)".   The virus receives recognition here, an honorable place in the revolution, for being a catalyst - a catalyst for painful technological-social processes, with hope for future prosperity at a level of life, even higher, than it was before the appearance of the "corona" virus.

The concepts, which were once seen as ethereal - theoretical expressions, such as "distance learning" (e-learning), "electronic commerce", telemedicine, video-conference, which until now were commonplace in the mouths of certain social groups and in limited scope - are gaining renewed validity these days.

We will have to get used to new lifestyles, and once the catalyst - the "Corona" - has passed, we will not want to return to the old habits, which will seem archaic to us.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Corona 2025: How the epidemic is changing our world - a series of video lectures
• The dilemma of getting out of the corona crisis - money or life?
• The corona virus: three aspects in which the crisis may permanently change our lives