This is what I predict and I have no idea if I'm right, wrong or somewhere in-between. I would like to consider this post apolitical. The operating hours of stores are no longer going to be 24-hours per day. Even before all of this, Walmarts and other grocery stores were starting to close at midnight. I think more stores will continue to analyze hours and continue to close early if business doesn't warrant staying open. It will now be an employer's market rather than a employee's market for jobs. Wages and raises after the 2008 recession were slow to recover with employers keeping starting wages low and having more part-time over full-time positions to avoid paying benefits. I think there will be a big push for a national sick pay / emergency leave plan. Many employer's leave plans are the vacation hours you accrue or unpaid FMLA. I think there will be major infrastructure deficiencies especially with communications. Europe is already trying to limit streaming quality with YouTube and Netflix to reduce the burden on the system as more people are stuck at home. I think more places will start to consider telework after all of this. My employer had zero plans to ever offer this and now are poised to have 90% of the workers working at home. This was done all in a week. This will also lead to more stress on communication infrastructure. I hope this also lead to more manufacturing and production jobs being brought back home from overseas. We have become accustomed to cheaply produced goods from countries that pay their workers slave wages, and we accept this because hey I get a cool gadget for cheap. The shutting down of the supply chains is going to have a big effect on the economy as employers have gotten used to just-in-time ordering processes and generally don't keep extra materials around. There are going to be a lot of people unemployed for extended durations because of this. I think the big corporations that are doing the most for their employees and their communities will come out stronger from this. I have talked a lot of crap about Walmart over the years, but I'm impressed with their handling of this situation. They're keeping people employed, were one of the first companies to release a plan for their employees if the employee is affected by the coronavirus and are working on keeping their communities fed and stocked with supplies. Businesses have been putting shareholders financial well-being first while neglecting the interests of their employees and the communities they serve for a long time. This pandemic really shifts the focus away from shareholders. Source
