REFLECTION PAPER

1. Social Changes Happening in My work Place

Workplace can influence functional behaviors and it can be a catalyst for social change. An
organizations use the environment to improve the sense of community, increase morale, reduce stress, and
develop cross group relationships.

Precipitous change, both peaceful and vehement, is a fact of life that practically everyone on
planet earth has come to envisage, if not unconditionally accept. Many nations cautiously make their way
toward relaxing Covid-19 lockdowns, many of us are starting to envision a time when we can stop
working at our kitchen tables and return to the office. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many are heralding the end
of the open-plan workplace and the return of small, private offices. It has been a stunning experience to
find ourselves adjusting our daily routines to take safety precautions to protect ourselves, loved ones, and
neighbors. Yet, in the absence of a vaccine, aspects of modern workplaces will have to change if
employees are to safely return to their desks.

Around half of the world's population is on lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-
19, a public health emergency that has claimed thousands of lives and sparked fears of the worst global
recession. This has had a profound impact on the world of work, as well as our mental and physical well-
being. In the midst of this global pandemic, we are reflecting in real-time on how systems undergo large-
scale transformation—how government, businesses, schools, cities, and communities adapt and make
fundamental changes to existing ways of working.

On the flip side, we're highly adaptable. We were building a sense of flexibility. It's not always
the strongest species that survives; it's sometimes the most adaptable. While nobody would choose to go
through this crisis, there may also be some post-traumatic growth, in which people realize their inner
strength and a deeper sense of gratitude. Some organizations as a whole may embrace home working and
continue to experiment with different ways of working after the crisis is over.

It's a little bit of both, like everything else. The challenging part is, as human beings, we don't like
uncertainty and unpredictability. There's even some evidence that if you're highly neurotic, you actually
prefer experiencing pain over being in the dark about what you're going to experience. That's a part of the
crisis that's really a challenge.

Apart from this pandemic, following the necessary precautions and bringing in basic health
measures at the workplace such as proper sanitization & deep cleaning of all areas, etc. is an imperative
during the present times and everyone should make it a part of their effort towards safeguarding the health
& safety for all. Bringing a cultural shift in the mindset - It is important to understand that this is first and
foremost a human crisis and hence having an empathetic, transparent and supportive approach towards
our workplace is critical.
2. Social changes in the local community

It’s no secret our society has gone through a staggering degree of change in recent years. The
impact these changes have had on the working world has been profound. The nature of the work we do,
the people doing work, the technology we use and our expectations of work look completely different
today than from 20 years ago. Taking note that the cycle of change is only accelerating, through close
examination of four societal changes, we can catch a glimpse of what the future of work has in store for
us.
Prior to the spread of COVID-19, we had been reflecting with on how difficult it is to change a
system: Systems prefer the status quo and often require a crisis to transform. We are certainly watching
this play out today—many countries have been slow to respond to the global pandemic despite significant
data and advice from experts on what measures are needed—and have only leapt into action once the
magnitude of the virus was apparent.

The COVID-19 outbreak affects all segments of the population and is particularly detrimental to
members of those social groups in the most vulnerable situations, continues to affect populations,
including people living in poverty situations, older persons, persons with disabilities, youth, and
indigenous peoples. Public discourses around Covid-19 that portray it as a disease of older people can
lead to social stigma and exacerbate negative stereotypes about older persons. Social stigma in the context
of a health outbreak can result in people being labelled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated
differently, and/or experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease, which can
negatively affect those with the disease, as well as their caregivers, family and communities.

We are living in challenging and uncertain times. Nearly every country across the globe is
struggling to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus and limit its health, societal, and economic
consequences. The full impact on community, work, family, and its intersections is not yet clear. There
are also ways in which communities have come together in positive ways in times of COVID-19. In a
rapidly changing context, community responses have been swift. This groundswell of volunteerism
brought about by being on lockdown has enabled many people to engage or re-engage with local
community, whilst maintaining online digital forms. How this shift towards positive participation will
manifest itself in the future is up for debate.

Obviously, these are challenging times for all of us but the one thing we know is that our best
response relies on global empathy, cooperation and community building that sit at the heart of our
movement.

3. Social changes in the national community and Social changes in

international community.

The COVID19 pandemic seems like a pretty stiff challenge. A global, novel virus that keeps
us contained in our homes—maybe for months—is already reorienting our relationship to
government, to the outside world, even to each other as workers attempted to interpret the action and
parameters of the social change. A historical juncture has been attained at which the former ways of
conducting human affairs from the interpersonal to the international levels are becoming less effective.

For most of the people around the world today, the recent COVID-19 outbreak is a symbol of
how fragile and unpredictable our lives can be in an unusual state of affairs. The virus which has changed
the way in which most of us live, work or perform our basic day to day functions is continuing to increase
its grasp at an alarming rate with the impact being felt at multiple levels resulting in economic slowdown,
business disruption, trade hindrances, travel obstructions, public seclusion and so on.

While health officials continue to get a grip on multiple outbreaks across the country, it is
important for the corporate sector to step up and rise to the challenge by going beyond the traditional way
of thinking and follow some basic guidelines to maintain connectivity, motivation and excitement with its
people. With respect to the continuity of business, companies around the world have switched over to
online/virtual modes of working while global mobility has come to a standstill. Various nations have been
exposed to a situation of complete lockdown which has led people to ponder upon how they can keep
their life safe, contain the spread of the virus and continue their operations effectively during this
unprecedented crisis.

The problem of social and economic inequalities are amplifying the challenge of
managing the rapid spread of COVID-19 globally, but what has also emerged is the systematic
racism. COVID-19 is already showing us a variety of patterns of racism aimed at people ranging
from cyber bullying to physical attacks, racist trolling, and a variety of xenophobic conspiracy
theories that have been articulated not only by ordinary citizens but also some politicians and
world leaders. None of this serves the intercultural dialogue agenda, with its emphasis on cross-
cultural contact, mutual understanding, respectful engagement and inter-communal solidarity.

But crisis moments also present opportunity: more sophisticated and flexible use of
technology, less polarization, a revived appreciation for the outdoors and life’s other simple
pleasures. No one knows exactly what will come, but here is our best stab at a guide to the
unknown ways that society—government, healthcare, the economy, our lifestyles and more—
will change I think one of the ways we can cope with the uncertainty is: when you can't imagine
the future, you can actually rewind and think more about the past. You can recognize hardships
that you've faced before. You can learn something from the lessons of your own resilience. Yet,
perhaps one of the main paradoxes of this pandemic is that the challenges of physical distancing
and disruption to the normal service provision systems has meant that solidarity, both local and
transnational, has also come to the fore of our collective responses.

Environment change is one of the biggest and most vital challenges of the 21st century.
In spite of all their efforts to restore the nature during the last few decades, humans could only
move a few steps forward. Like all the preceding disasters on the earth, let all be optimistic
enough that, human beings will definitely win over the pandemic in due course of time, but they
should know the limits to which they can thrust nature, before it is too late.