As it used to be, there will be no more: experts are posing a scenario of how a pandemic will change our lives

Went to the internet

One of the biggest changes, according to the CEO of Versli Lietuva, in terms of business activities during the pandemic, was that at the beginning of the quarantine, companies responded quickly to the situation and made operational changes.

“When the ‘Versli Lietuva’ quarantine was introduced, it was in the first direct line. Closing the companies was a big shock to them.

Already in the first week, without waiting for companies to contact us, we took the initiative to help companies in some way to start operating online as soon as possible, both for those that have not yet done so and for those they did but they didn’t pay much attention.

In the first two weeks, 1,000 people joined our initiative. small and medium businesses. We estimate that around 100 new emails were created in the first two weeks. supermarkets, “he said, and said that about 60 percent of them this was done by companies from the regions and another 20%. There were businesses that e. stores established for the first time.

“We can say that the companies reacted very quickly, they launched into e-mail. Commerce, there were a lot of orders in the first months, because we saw that the deliveries were broken and the logistics chains were broken,” said D. Kleponė.

It is true that a little later, according to her, the boom subsided, and then we saw who was managing this crisis and who lacked competition.

“You cannot trade online with the same principles as in physical stores, you need different skills,” he added.

D. Kleponė also mentioned that there were such companies that decided not to continue physical commerce online and moved everything to the Internet.

“I think this has saved a large number of companies, if not from a very large drop in turnover, at least from total bankruptcy,” he said. business development, he said.

We’ll work from home, we’ll live on the road

Changes in the structure of the economy during the quarantine were also discussed by the economist Ž. Mauricas. According to him, the rise of businesses to email. The space continued even before the coronavirus crisis, but the crisis was the factor that shook the economy and accelerated everything even more.

“E-commerce and working from home are fundamental changes in the structure of the economy and will lead to many other changes in other sectors, such as real estate (RE), services, manufacturing and, in general, lifestyle of people. Those changes, I daresay, are just beginning, ”he said.

The economist explained that Lithuanians will have a completely different way of life, which will no longer mean that every 8 hours. You have to get in the car and travel to work.

“You will need less to drive, because you will no longer need to work, people will work from home for a significant part of the time. During the same heat of the pandemic, New Zealand had a record, as high as 60 percent. Workers were working from This means that such technical possibilities were available. Another thing is online shopping. You no longer have to go to the goods, they come to you themselves, “he said.

Ž. Maurice also assured that certain changes are and will continue to be related to the real estate sector. As you said, if in the past people lived closer to the city center, now, when part of the need to go to work every day is gone, people will choose to live on the road.

“Another change is not the pandemic, but the response, the EU Green Course. If the houses are category A +, self-contained, very cheap to maintain, then people will have an even greater incentive to move to a house on the road, rather than an apartment building closer to the center, because there are fewer trips and the goods come to you, and more environmentally friendly. The term debut is appropriate here.

This trend also started before the crisis in Lithuania, as Lithuania is one of the EU countries where relatively the majority of the population lives in apartment buildings. In other countries, especially popular with emigrants, Ireland, UK and Norway, there are almost no apartments, houses and cabins dominate there, and I think this trend will be no exception in Lithuania, and the pandemic will accelerate it even more ”, predicted the economist.

There are challenges ahead in the labor market

Speaking of possible changes, he assured that the situation in the commercial real estate market could change in a fundamental way.

“There are many questions and what is going to happen with commercial real estate, with large supermarkets, especially those with low prices, sales. There will be less purpose in going to such centers if you can book online. This means that supermarkets will become logistics centers on the road or leisure spaces where people can come, meet friends, co-workers with whom they do not meet so often in the office, ”he said.

As stated by Ž. Mauritius, the changes will not bypass the hotel sector.

What is a hotel? Before there were rooms and a large conference center, now there is a great need for a conference center, because many events will be organized remotely, and the rooms themselves will not be so relevant anymore, so hotels will become those Collaborative spaces, they will become mini offices, where people come and in the same hotel they can have space to meet, discuss all things. Offices will also have to change.

In fact, there will be many changes and not everyone realizes how significant those changes will be, but the fact that they will be, ”he said, adding about the changes in the labor market.

“Lithuania has already had many challenges. We transformed our economy from a centrally managed (Soviet) economy to a market one, then we had high double-digit unemployment for a long time, and actually now we have another change: technological.

Technological change will mean that completely different skills will be needed, different jobs will be needed, and some jobs will not be necessary at all, as the technologies will compete. The challenge with unemployment will be very great and there will be a long struggle and Lithuania should be seen as a way to ease the entire burden of change on the workers, ”he said.

Accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Vidmantas Janulevičius, President of the Lithuanian Industrial Confederation (LPK), also spoke about the changes. He shared the opinion expressed and said that he also believed that in the future, the number of physical outlets would decrease, people would save time and work more remotely.

“I believe that here is our added value, as in Lithuania, because we are quite well equipped with the Internet, its speed, but, of course, we must not stop investing in it.

We can also be a mini-China in terms of production, because, as we can see, supply chains are shortening and the pandemic has only accelerated the fourth industrial revolution, of course we already have to think about the fifth and sixth, which is not it’s beyond the mountains, but I think this transformation is “It’s very important for us to be on that train,” he said.

V. Janulevičius also added that today, due to the shortening of supply chains, the Lithuanian industry is receiving more and more requests from foreign companies.

“Today, more and more companies are turning to our companies, and I hope this is not something temporary accidental, but a systemic approach from the main EU countries. Those consultations are growing in all areas, whether it be of manufacturing, manufacturing or service, and I hope that the current movement on their part is consistent and we can serve them without providing adequate and timely attention, “he said.

When asked if today’s new orders could compensate Lithuanian industries for losses caused by COVID-19, he said that this was already happening.

“The new orders are helping us to recover the lost potential that was lost between the end of March and June and the fact that we would be very good with last year’s performance with exports, but that would probably be difficult, and if the industrial decline or exporter does not exceed. I would say that what is planned, then it will be something very well managed “, said V. Janulevičius.