Without a doubt, it’s been an incredibly tough couple of years. But, as the end of covid is – we hope – in sight, it can be helpful to consider the pandemic’s unexpected silver linings, as we explore below.

The Move to Homeworking 

One of the earliest responses to the pandemic was the directive from governments for people to work from home where possible. This resulted in swathes of workers across the world suddenly finding themselves doing their jobs from their home office, their sofa, or the kitchen table and becoming accustomed to meetings held via Zoom and business planning being done virtually. This caused stress, to be sure – many people had to juggle work with homeschooling, try to work from makeshift offices, and deal with feelings of isolation. However, the move to homeworking has come with advantages for a significant number of the population.

For example, more people than ever before now have the choice to work from home; companies that were required to make this provision, and who may not have been willing to let staff work in this way before the pandemic, are now set up to run on this basis and have proof that it can be successfully done. This has solved childcare issues for many families or negated the need for a long, stressful commute. And for the businesses? Those able to work from home who want to tend to be both a happier and more productive workforce.

Fitting In Food Deliveries

Pre-pandemic, the grocery shop was something that most of us took for granted: a weekly outing that we didn’t give much thought to. Once covid had the nation by the neck, however, and leaving the house to shop was difficult, getting a food delivery became a near-impossible challenge, as slots filled up weeks in advance and stores ran out of staples such as pasta and loo roll. 

We all quickly learned that we were going to have to plan our deliveries with military precision to make sure we got a slot at a convenient time, and many of us began to book our shops for months in advance to ensure there was no risk of being caught out. Both the drive to use online food delivery services, and our inability to get out to eat at restaurants and cafes, meant that we began to get a bit more adventurous with food at home. A look at https://www.top10.com/online-grocery testifies to the huge increase in the popularity of companies such as Hello Fresh, which offer a range of healthy, minimal-prep food, making it easy to try out new dishes. The idea with this service is that each meal should take no more than thirty minutes to prepare and incorporate a maximum of six ingredients; every box is seasonal, and there is a wide and ever-changing menu to choose from.

Environmental Healing

The environment was the unexpected beneficiary of the pandemic. With people consigned to their homes for a large portion of the last two years and home working negating the need for commutes, the planet was given a rare respite from the effects of pollution.

The lack of air travel, and the reduction in manufacturing, too, contributed to this silver-lining; at the height of the pandemic, China reported that the number of days with good air quality increased by 85% in over three hundred cities, while in a tourist-free Venice, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/20/nature-is-taking-back-venice-wildlife-returns-to-tourist-free-city fish and other wildlife began to reappear in the canals.

Interestingly, the exponential reduction in travel and industry meant that there were fewer vibrations in the Earth’s crust during the periods of lockdown: the lack of seismic background noise resulted in scientists being able to predict earthquakes with much greater accuracy than before.

The Need For Connection

If there is one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it is how important connections are to our well-being. The spike in depression seen throughout the last couple of years has been fuelled, in no small part, by the effects of isolation-induced loneliness.

Lockdown was a stark reminder not to take the presence of and the ability to connect with our friends and loved ones for granted. From this has emerged a new concern for communities to come together and for us to support each other. This can be seen in the rise of, for example, Facebook groups dedicated to helping those feeling the pinch of the pandemic; also in the way that neighbors in some Italian cities came together on their balconies to create music together.

Volunteering rates have shot up during the pandemic, further proving the drive that so many now have to support the common cause and assist those in need.

Feelings of Gratitude

Despite the loss, the loneliness, and the utterly changed nature of our lives, many people have found themselves fostering intense feelings of gratitude during this period. Being able to hug friends again, visit loved ones, enjoy a trip to the cinema, or simply take a stroll in the park with a group of like-minded walkers will never again feel anything other than magical.