Work & The Virus

In a pandemic-struck world, some jobs have faded out, while others have become hot property

- Anjuly Mathai

Hashicorp CEO Mitchell Hashimoto recently asked his employees whether they knew the difference between typing ok, ok. or ok.. Not knowing the difference in today’s world, he said, is equivalent to being illiterate. According to him, ok. has a negative implication while ok.. reflects uncertainty. Chat literacy, like many other things, is probably a side effect of the pandemic. It is just one of the ways in which Covid-19 has turned the world topsy-turvy.

As a result, we have all gotten “cyber-struck”. Zoom rooms, remote fitness and online concerts have become the norm. Education got interactive with video games teaching you the basics of trigonometry. Apps like Krisp and Muzzle streamlined video conferencing without screen pop-ups and background noise. Companies like Twitter and Shopify made remote working more or less permanent. Gaming platforms like JetSynthesys raised crores in funding.

In a way, the virus has proved to be the tipping point of digitalisation. “We have seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in May. “If you embrace digital, then no matter what job you do, it will be a hot job,” says Ashutosh Khanna, senior client partner, Global Consumer Markets, Korn Ferry International. “Take marketing. If you don’t know how to run a digital campaign or organise your company’s data, then you might know how to make the world’s best television commercial, but you are not relevant anymore.” According to Rohit Kale, who heads the India operations of Spencer Stuart, the role of a chief digital officer is becoming redundant because digital has infiltrated every aspect of work.