COVID Era - THE NEXT NORMAL with Dave Trafford
Episodes
We began this podcast series by exploring the behavioural and perceptual effects this pandemic has had on us and what will be the lasting impact. We learned that changes will actually come slowly, but the changes will be long lasting – perhaps even generational.
We’ve learned that the future of work is no longer about working from home. It’s now about living at work.
We’ve learned that our behaviour drives outcomes. Physical di...
We know there will be a second wave of COVID-19. And it’s likely to hit us before the end of this calendar year. We also know that some countries, like Canada, have managed to crush the curve. Still, there are regions of the world where the curve continues to rise – particularly in Brazil, India and the United States.
So, the daily news can be exhausting at best and grim when we consider the worst case scenarios.
But there is some ...
Some good news, if not great news, on the research front. There are 147 COVID-19 vaccines in development and 17 of them are into the human trials.
Professor Nikolai Petrovsky is the chairman of VAXINE – an Australian based company that is undertaking an international effort to develop a COVID 19 vaccine. He and his team started human trials on July 1st, 2020
The past few episodes of the NEXT NORMAL have focused on the SECOND WAVE of the COVID pandemic – likely to hit us in the next 4 of 5 months.
While there’s still a lot we don’t know about this strain of the coronavirus, we have learned a lot since it was detected in December of last year.
Much of that knowledge has come from an historic and piercing international scientific focus on COVID-19. There are hundreds of efforts underw...
Economies are in various stages of reopening across the country. But we do so with one eye on the SECOND WAVE which is expected to hit in the late autumn and last into the winter of 2021.
Are we ready for it. We’ve been asking that question of late from a number of perspectives. In this episode, we look at some of the science lessons and medical lessons we’ve learned during the course of the pandemic so far.
We talk to Dr. Mitch Sh...
We often talk about the heroes of the pandemic and that brings our front line healthcare workers to mind almost immediately. What does the Next Normal look like for them as we approach the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19?
What the learnings they have had as they've faced down the COVID crisis?
Tim Guest is President of the Canadian Nurses Association.
Mark Henick is a Mental Health advocate and host of the podcast So Called Normal.
There are some voices and expert thinkers among us who believe the "second wave" of the coronavirus pandemic may not be as severe as we had originally expected. But they do say it's coming and with it we will begin to see the true fallout of the "first wave" - the businesses that have gone bankrupt, the real job loss once government...
They’ve been dubbed the “COVID Cohort”. They are the high school grads, the class of 2020, who had fully intended to attend the college or university of their choice in September. But the pandemic upset those plans as it has done in almost aspect of our lives and livelihoods.
Post-secondary institutions across the country and around the world are moving from on-campus to online learning. It’s a move that makes sense from a public...
We have constantly talked about how we must re-invent, re-think, re-calibrate our economy, our personal and professional lives and our long-standing institutions as we respond to the COVID pandemic.
Healthcare and education have been front a centre for most families across the country. But the justice system may have faced the greatest challenges, forced to comply with the public health requirements while ensuring the courts cont...
I was meeting with a friend over coffee at a local Starbucks the day the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. It’s been more than 100 days since that happened.
Needless to say, all of our jobs, our families, our homes have been disrupted when the pandemic forced a global economic shutdown.
So, how have we coped so far? How have our values been re-shaped and re-focused?
John Wright is a veter...
We spent the first three months of the pandemic saying we need to trust the science and scientists. But we've also seen a good deal of frustration around mixed messages - Lancet withdrawing the hydroxychloriquine research, and the WHO taking its "learning as we go" approach to this novel coronavirus.
Two things have happened. We have a better understanding of how the science community functions. On the other hand, it...
Economies are re-opening across Canada and around the world as we emerge from the first wave of the COVID pandemic. Some regions are opening more slowly than others, primarily because of the number of active coronavirus cases still being reported. While this has proven to be a balance between public health and the need to reignite business on main street and Bay Street, the real success is going to depend on individual behaviours.
...
Has COVID 19 contributed to the rage and rallying we’ve seen in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis? Has COVID-19 accelerated the end to what’s been called The American Century?
David Schultz is a professor of political science and constitutional law at Hamline University in Minnesota. It’s his view that the pandemic has made it clear that America’s global influence is in decline while other nat...
Navigating the long term care system in Canada has never been easy. In fact, at best it could be qualified as frustrating, infuriating and exhausting. That has only been amplified by the onset of the COVID pandemic. It has also highlighted the urgency needed to address the appalling state of long term care homes and the sheer neglect and abuse suffered by some residents.
How do we rebuild the system?
Jeff Lozon is a former Depu...
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare a number of areas our lack of preparedness – both on an individual and institutional level. And nowhere has it been more obvious than when we consider the state of Long Term Care facilities in Canada.
Coronavirus Outbreaks overwhelmed the system to the point where Ontario and Quebec asked the federal government to deploy the military to help with the staffing shortages. And based on that respon...
What does the future of work look like in this COVID-19 era?
Lisa Taylor - President of Challenge Factory and author of the Talent Revolution. She and her team are on the forefront of helping Canadians prepare for the Future of Work…
In part two of our conversation, Lisa says our initial reaction to the pandemic was a crisis response and we reacted without a full understanding of expectations of both the technology and outcomes. ...
The pandemic has disrupted every part of our lives. None more so than your work life. Many of you have lost your jobs. Many others have had their hours reduced and almost everyone who is still working has been working remotely from makeshift home offices.
Is this a glimpse of the future of work? Is the home office really going to be default posture for you and your colleagues?
This is the first of two parts of my conversation ...
COVID-19 has tested our resilience – the resilience of our economy, of our businesses, of our families health and well-being, and the resilience of our leaders.
And the greatest tests are still to come, particularly as we wade through the process of re-opening economies across Canada and around the world. One of the major challenges will be balancing public health concerns with economic well being.
And that will pose a number o...
Don't Fence Me In was written by Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher and Roy Rogers sang in the 1944 movie – Hollywood Canteen. The idea of wide open spaces has always been a metaphor for freedom and healthy living…
But here we are in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and we are rethinking the safety and security of our open spaces. Even when we stroll in the park, we’re told we need to keep our distance.
It’s forced us t...
Whether it’s re-opening our economy, getting the kids back to class, or keeping your regular dentist appointment – the recovery and success will depend on your comfort and your confidence that we will be able to do all of this safely as we face the challenges of COVID-19.
Sarah Thorne, President and CEO of Decision • Partners is a behavioural researcher. She says we are all in a state of adaptive management. As much as we may thi...