As many of us stayed home during this pandemic, either unemployed or simply working from home, being in isolation has caused a lot of us to really sit back and think. With all this time we’ve had on our hands, many of us are sitting back and wondering “why am I working for someone else when I can be working for myself?” It has almost become a trend for millennials to wake up and smell the coffee and really take a look at their full potential. The fact that it took a pandemic for many of us to really look at the bigger picture just comes to show how little time we had for ourselves.
During this pandemic, it is safe to say that there were two types of people, the people who decided to sit back and finally relax, and the others that wanted to really use this time to work on their passion. While some of us watched every Netflix show known and laughed at Tiger King memes all over social media, others really took action and said “this is my moment, I will never get this time back again” and made the best use of their time (not that watching Tiger King is a bad thing).
As the world begins to open and things begin to go back to “normal,” businesses will begin to open their doors and people will slowly begin to go back to work. But how many of us will actually return? How many young workers have had enough of answering to someone else and have finally taken that leap to go out on their own and work on themselves? The truth is we do not know yet, but don’t be surprised if you see a lot of new businesses pop up online being run by young entrepreneurs.
Millennials Are a Special Breed
In case people have not noticed, millennials are a very special group of people. They pretty much invented social media and digital working. Millennials have seen the most hardships in modern history, and many of them are not even 30 years old yet. Watching the economy fail us twice in our young lives has caused us to take further action to achieve our goals. So yes, it’s safe to say that millennials have just about had enough of having to work for other people, and they want to work on themselves. Personally, I have seen many of my peers say, “why am I going to an office every day when I can literally do the same thing at home!”
With access to so many online courses such as Udemy and Skillshare, many of us have turned to these two websites to better our skills and find ways to work remotely. With all the time we’ve had on our hands and the discounted rates for online courses, we had no choice but to give in and finally use that time to better ourselves. After all with everything that has transpired over the last few months, there will be big changes to come, and as more companies begin to go virtual, the brick and mortar business style will slowly begin to disappear, not all of them but many.
The Future is Virtual
As more businesses begin to go online, it’s safe to say that millennials are best prepared for this transition. Even before the pandemic, millennials found ways to work online and avoid the 9 to 5 corporate lifestyle as much as possible. With more businesses looking to go virtual, many millennials will find ways to capitalize off of the new need to go digital, whether it’s offering their services or starting their own business, this group of young digital entrepreneurs are one step ahead of the game.
Let’s face it, the older generation is so used to work in an office setting, and they will not be able to entirely adapt to going fully online. I can personally vouch for a few people who had bosses that were having a difficult time managing their staff remotely. With this small weakness, millennials will find a way to capitalize off of it whether it is a virtual assistant or offering services online, millennials will find a way to make the world fully digital.
Side Hustle Turned Business
While many of us worked from home doing our 9 to 5 jobs, there were also many of us doing small side jobs that will allow us to better our skills and grow our portfolio. The truth is being chained to a desk from 9 to 5 has caused many of us to put our talents on a back burner, and now with all this time on our hands, we have been able to sell our talents. Imagine getting paid to do something you love? A few months ago, we could not even imagine doing such a thing.
So, what will come of this? The truth is that many of us will not return to work, because many of us have seen the bigger picture and have finally seen what could be an awesome opportunity of going fully digital and working from anywhere in the world. From this pandemic, a group of video editors, content writers, virtual assistants, new YouTubers, bloggers, and other awesome online careers will be born. Being stuck at home for three months have caused a young generation to finally wake up and work on what will really make them happy.
Conclusion
This pandemic has been a learning experience for every generation. For the older generation that is used to working in a brick and mortar business, it has allowed them to work fully remotely and see what could be something great. For many CEOs, the pandemic has brought them to make drastic changes to their company and has allowed them to see that maybe being stuck to a desk for 8 hours is not necessary. As for my generation, well many of us finally woke up and became aware of what working on your own terms can really be like.
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