Among the positives to emerge from the global pandemic is an enhanced appreciation of quality of life, as Alan Austin reports.
They say a near death experience focuses the mind on what’s really important. They also say few people on their deathbed wish they had spent more time at the office.
The Covid pandemic was a near death experience for much of world. Within a year of the first infection, 2.1 million people were dead. After two years, the toll was 5.5 million. It is is now 6.9 million. Around 700 million have been infected worldwide.
Clearly the destruction Covid wrought has been horrific. Those lives are gone forever. But some outcomes of the global response to the pandemic we should welcome and retain.
Work life balance
One discovery through the pandemic was that large sectors of the workforce can work effectively from home – far more than was thought possible before. Many work places continue to take advantage of this.
Countless organisations have now replaced costly travel for conferences with the convenience of face-to-face meetings online.
Globally, there is greater focus on the wellbeing of workers other than just wages and conditions. And also on the health of the planet.
This has accelerated acceptance of alternative measures of progress to the traditional growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and the budget deficit.
Are you safe out walking?
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has generated an intriguing index which scores all 38 developed OECD members on 24 criteria which measure overall life quality.
The Better Life Index tracks conventional employment rates, household income and household wealth but excludes GDP growth. It takes in predictable indicators such as housing expenditure, air pollution, water quality, life expectancy and homicide rates. Then it adds some that are definitely alternative, such as voter turnout, quality of community support, life satisfaction, feeling safe when walking and time devoted to leisure.
On life satisfaction, Finland leads with a score of 7.9, followed by Iceland on 7.6, then three countries on 7.5 – Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland. The USA ranks 16th and the United Kingdom 19th.
On quality of community support, Iceland leads on 98%, with four countries tied on 96% – Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland and Norway. The USA ranks 18th on 94%. Australia ranks equal 19th on 93%, along with Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The USA ranks equal 16th on feeling safe when walking, equal with Canada and the United Kingdom. Highest rankings in that sub-category, in order, are Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Luxembourg and Austria.
On housing expenditure, the USA ranks a dismal 29th, which will not surprise regular readers of this diary. Countries leading on shelter are Slovakia, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
Many other alternative indices and reports are published from time to time, which we shall analyse in due course – provided, of course, our work-life balance regime permits.
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This is an abbreviated version of an article published today in Independent Australia. The original article is available here in full for free:
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/locking-in-the-benefits-covid-offered-to-a-troubled-world,17579
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