After a turbulent year, enterprises are returning to the prospect of a new world following an unprecedented pandemic.

It has been a strange year for businesses and workplaces around the world. With the majority of us working from home for at least part of the year, workers have no doubt gained a new appreciation for a dedicated office space away from home – or, if nothing else, for the top-quality office chair as opposed to the spine-shattering kitchen chair of their makeshift home office.

As we move through the academic year, many students are preparing to graduate and enter the world of work. However, these future workers will be entering into a working environment unlike any other we’ve experienced. Universities continue to teach remotely, but now, these students can expect to begin their professional careers while working from home. This is a worrying prospect. According to a survey by Prospects, 82 per cent of graduates in 2020 said that they felt disconnected from their employers. Meanwhile, 83 per cent said that the pandemic has caused a lack of motivation.

There is still a certain sense that things may never been fully the same as before the world went into lockdown. With social behaviours and etiquette sharply changing, how can businesses built upon years and years of the ‘old’ normal embrace the new world that will emerge after the pandemic is brought under control?