It doesn't always connect

There is so much talk with respect to COVID and how it has 'changed everything forever'.

That's hard to accept.

From a professional side, I get it. New restrictions, new concerns and trying to figure out how you can effectively put in place, manage and communicate that it is 'safe' to return to normal.

Within a business, changing the culture or the structure of your organization is extremely hard. Businesses have grown and evolved their culture to where it is today. There is a huge amount of shared beliefs, norms and expectations that allow you to operate how you do. You can't just flip the switch and have a totally different picture tomorrow.

From a personal side however, I am still waiting to see it.

Having been the one who has been going to stores and doing the shopping all throughout this pandemic, I can see that people are done.

In the beginning, a lot of people, if not everyone was adhering to whatever guidelines where given.

We waited patiently in lines, limited the frequency of going to the stores, focused on essentials and would barely even acknowledge another person on the street.

Yesterday, I had to go to the store again. 

The amount of people wearing masks has dropped significantly. People were pretty free flowing in the stores. Where a few months ago someone would see you in an aisle and move to one side, yesterday I walked right through people having a conversation as they clearly were not moving.

I saw a video last night of restaurants in Paris ... packed, tightly packed.

For me this really ties back to our basic human psychology, our need for connection and community as well as a healthy dose of groupthink.

While the number of people who have died from the CoronaVirus is significant, when you do the math and understand the percentages, most people were not touched by it in any way. 

As of 2018, the world's population was estimated to be 7.594 ... BILLION

As of June 2020, the confirmed deaths attributed to the CoronaVirus 4.04 ... THOUSAND

The gap and numbers are so large, that people can't even properly make the connections / links in their brain.

With people then unaffected by the virus, however devastated by the social distancing measures, I am not surprised to see people rushing towards normally. The restrictions put on the population made people feel out of control, it caused them to feel less safe, and dramatically drove up uncertainty.

Humans don't like any of that. We are hard wired to identify threats and find safety. The unfortunately reality is that the social distancing measures themselves became more of a threat (psychologically) to the population than the virus ever was. How many people have lost their job? How many people have had their business fail? How safe or comfortable do you feel if you are uncertain how long you can keep putting food on the table? Or pay your mortgage/rent?

The blind return to what was before is because that is the known. Most people felt safe, felt comfortable, knew their place and had a way to fit into different communities. Those positive feelings, that level of safety and certainty are what people want to get back.

The more people that come together, the more this will accelerate as you will have social proof take effect. Caution will go from something that helped you identify with your community to one that will be set you apart.

Time will tell if the behaviour contributes to a second large wave of the virus. The question is, will people be willing to deal with more uncertainty?