Things that will have changed for ever?

[ivykaty44]

Online shopping, before was at 7% do you think people will adjust to more click and collect and online shopping?

Telephone dr appointment, I’ve found it much easier to get my father a telephone appointment and have had probably 6/7 in the last 3 weeks. Much eAsier to do at home and quicker. Will this evolve to more telephone appointments rather than face to face?

What other things gave you noticed which might not change back or evolve to be different?

[marblesgoing]

People will appreciate what we have way more.
Not saying we don't but in a more in your face way I suppose.

I live in a beautiful area in a beautiful house we have worked so hard over the years to renovate but never really appreciated it for what it is.

Weekends will be way more special now and I think people will have a new normal.

We've had to suddenly drop out any expenses that weren't really needed and lowered the months outgoings by £500 in about ten minutes which was shocking at how much we waste.

On top of not buying coffee and luxuries when out we've probably saved around £800 in a month so I know we will definitely be more careful and frugal from now on.

The main thing it's taught us though is how quickly something out of our control can change our life in a heartbeat and it's bloody scary

[justanotherneighinparadise]

It would be nice if couriers continued to just wave at us from the bottom of the driveway instead of having one of those devices thrust in my hands to scrawl a doodle on.

[Barbararara]

I’m hoping that foreign travel for business meetings will drop significantly. Dh has had to do a fair few of these over the years getting up at 4am to get a flight to Brussels, catch a train and scrape into a meeting at 10am which might last two hours. A whole day wasted, a ridiculous environmental toll. It was never possible before to just do these things by zoom, or teams, but I think that will be the new normal.

[cologne4711]

GPs won't go back to face to face appointments. They didn't like them anyway, and were moving as many people as they could to phone calls and the e-consult thing. The problem will be that you can't even get telephone appointments in some areas.

I hope that office based employers will get more sensible about home working and remote working generally - and also allow people to stagger their hours so there isn't a rush-hour as such, just core hours that you have to be available. However, I mentioned this on another thread but I've seen at least one job advertisement for a job in London which said "initially remote working and then full time in the office". so it doesn't look good.

[PicsInRed]

Can we putting "kissing hello" to people we've only just met - or barely - know on the list?
Yuck. I don't even know you.

[MaudBaileysGreenTurban]

I think WFH will be the biggest thing. My office is on a huge site in central London and it costs an absolute fortune to run and maintain. They have been talking about moving us to smaller premises for years but it's never happened as they couldn't work out to how to manage all of us still coming in every day - I think now it definitely will! The outlay of equipping every member of staff with a networked laptop etc is miniscule compared to central London rent and rates. It won't be possible to be at home every single day but I will be aiming for 2-3 days a week.

I've also saved a ridiculous amount of money by not commuting in every day. Win win.

[Bagelsandbrie]

I think people will walk more generally, rather than sit on crowded public transport.

[justanotherneighinparadise]

Oh I’ve also heard it said that wearing masks every day outside of s pandemic may become the norm. Particularly on public transport. That would definitely be a new normal for western countries.

[Almahart]

No shaking hands. I think that will take a long time to come back. I think a section of the population who might already have intended to cut down on impulse buys/fast fashion etc will do so. Basically some of those people on Mumsnet S&B who say they will go a year without shopping and never manage it. I'll be one of them.

I also think some people will homeschool. I look at what my kids have been sent home with and how much filler there is in the school day and can see the appeal, although for various reasons we won't do it.

[OhClover]

I really hope we don’t keep doing things from a distance. I am so bloody sick of the Skype interviews on the news, sick of Skype meetings etc - you can’t beat being face to face.

I agree the freedom to enter foreign countries as a visitor will be restricted for a while either by quarantine or special paperwork.

[GreasyFryUp]

Our GP moved to the online booking system a while ago now. Even if you go in you use the iPad to request an appointment. It's great and I've seen or talked to my GP every time rather than settle for the first available.

I'd like the option to work from home more but miss going into the office. I work in a creative environment. It's not the same on your own. If people go work from home more what's going to happen to all the empty office buildings as businesses downscale their needs.

[justanotherneighinparadise]

My partner’s job will still be location based but he did a lot of European and international travel. I wonder how that will be impacted? Personally I’m
a SAHM with a very small job that again I have to commute to and my kids need taking to school so nothing will change there.

I have been able to find click and collect slots and they are convenient but I really miss idle shopping and grabbing bits and jobs from various shops so I suspect I won’t continue with C&C once we’re all free to shop normally again.

[Tarararara]

Less business travel (using Zoom more frequently) - I think this will be partly due to having had it demonstrated that remote Zoom meetings do actually get the job done, partly due to the necessity of cost-saving in the resultant recession, and partly due to a new 'wokeness' about the environmental damage of unnecessary travel.

More online supermarket deliveries - lots of 70+ people have had deliveries for the first time in the pandemic so this is a new demographic who may continue.

Glad the online/telephone GP consultations have been mentioned - what a gamechanger this could be if it continued, and extended to hospital appointments.

[Gfplux]

Overseas Holiday travel will be slow to return to the old normal. Hopefully people will realise they don’t have to take a plane to have a good time.

[ivykaty44]

’m really hoping I’ll only have to go into the office for the occasional team meeting, although how we’ll do those if social distancing measures are in place for a long time, I don’t know

Other companies are having digital meetings, so this maybe an option?

[userxx]

@AlecTrevelyan006 I hope so, it's always given me the ick. I've no idea if the hand I'm shaking hasn't just been wiping nether regions 🤮. I've definitely overthought this for a long time.

[ColdCottage]

I've had phone call appointment with consultants for my son for a few years now when they don't need to examine him just see how he is doing. Saves maybe 2h travel plus wait time. SO much easier. Always ask for an online call at GP when applicable. Hope these things become more normal. Saves us all time, saves money on travel and frees up parking at hospitals for those who have to come in plus more environmentally friendly.

[Wingedharpy]

I don't think freedom to travel will return to previous levels either @AlwaysOnABloodyDiet.

I can also imagine that we will have to have paperwork to travel to say we've had Covid 19 and are immune or, we've had a vaccination (if/when there is one).

Tourism to some countries will be slow to pick up due to fear - real or imagined, eg. China, Italy ,Spain and UK.

Everything, but everything will cost far more due to firms trying to recoup some of their losses.

Many couples will separate/divorce.
Many couples will move in together/get married.

[AgentCooper]

I hope people will remember this at the next election and think about how much we need a well-funded NHS with plenty of staff, no matter where they come from.

[AlwaysOnAbloodyDiet]

No more shaking hands, increase in online shopping, increase in the number of children being homeschooled, less fast fashion and unnecessary purchases - people will see how much money they've saved

I know many countries hugely depend on tourism, but I'm not sure we'll have the same freedom of travel or availability of cheap flights.

People will be very slow to attend large gatherings and confined spaces, e.g. Concerts and the cinema

[Shelby30]

I think it has to be the work from home thing.

Most companies will be looking at how to cut costs after this. Easy way to save rent or move to smaller premises would be having more staff working from home.

My employer has a huge building with 800 ppl and we have had to rent an additional office space nearby. We also reduced the size of the desks to fit more desks in. They have spoken about having teams working from home a few days a week to free up desks so we cld at least all fit in the building. I wonder if they will now go ahead with that. Especially as our budgets are going to be shot next yr, it's public sector. The rent and rates on the premises we have are millions of pounds a year! Madness.

[xine15]

I've been having hospital appointments by phone for the last few years with the endocrine clinic. It works so much better for me, rather than pretty much half the day written off I have a 15minute slot when waiting for the call and usually at most it takes up half an hour of my day. I hope more services become like this, which would free up face to face when needed.

I'm hoping teacher might get a little more respect after this all as recently I've felt a huge decline in the general public's opinion of the profession. I think there will definitely be more respect (quite rightly) for our nursing and care staff.

[Redlocks28]

I think many things will return to just how they were, sadly. Raised eyebrows and disciplinary meetings when you have days off work Will return and and people asking to WFH will still seem an an excuse to skive or that you’re just trying to save money on childcare.

Hopefully less people using A&E for minor things. It wasn't unheard of someone to go to hospital for some reason and have to be sat there for hours before being seen. MIL broke her foot last week and was in and out in a relatively short period of time. She said there was hardly anyone there. People seemed to have realised that a trip to A&E isn't always necessary

I don’t think this will stop either, sadly. It’s only stopped now because people are terrified of catching COVID.

I hope more things can happen online/via phone/computer though-doctors appointments particularly. I wonder how GPs have found this has worked over the last couple of weeks.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Hopefully people will support the local businesses that have offered outstanding personal service, ie; home delivery etc. There have been some fabulous initiatives where I live and I really hope they keep going.

Yes - we've not had to use the supermarkets at all during 'lockdown', and we're mostly eating better.

[NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite]

Working from home will become the norm.
(Companies will close offices and drastically reduce running costs, we will need less trains and buses as a result leading to improvements in air quality and a reduction in people developing asthma).

The Govt will try and eradicate cash. (As a result benefit fraud will fall as all transactions will be via bank accounts).

I think GP telephone appointments will become the norm as will initial hospital appointments with Consultants.

I'd like to think people will use their cars less as the air is cleaner due to emptier roads but, sadly, I don't think people would give up cars. There will be fewer cars due to many working from home though.

The vast majority of people doing on-line food shopping will carry on after the pandemic is over just because they've got used to it. Fighting for a slot will become the norm.