How To Reach The Golden Mean

After a brief period of respite from the lockdown, the nasty virus has again taken the world with an awful spell of a series of positive COVID 19 cases. There must be not one human on this planet who has not been affected either directly or indirectly with this global crises. While, I feel most of us are going through tough times, at the same time we have changed and made adjustments to our routine to suit the ‘new normal’. The ‘new normal’ has become such a trending term I have come across in the past few months. Many writers, authors, columnist, speakers, are talking about the ‘new normal’. What is this ’new normal’? What are the behaviour trends that define the ‘new normal’ for us? These questions made me think of the habits and behaviours which people follow in these times of lockdown. 

Changes in the world

Yet, the behaviours which people follow are results of the circumstances and situations which they have faced. Some of these I have outlined here: The consumer’s buying behaviour both online and offline, increasing use of webinars and less of contact sessions, online classes for schools and colleges, longer work hours for employees as they WFH, tighter budgets for employees resulting in pay cuts, no or less salary rise and even job losses, increasing importance given to health-care expenses, immunity foods and exercise, increase in online gaming industry and the like. Let's take a sneak peek on these global changes that have also affected human behaviour.

1.      Consumer’s buying behaviour both online and offline- Ecommerce stores get boosts in times of pandemic.  The hiring trends in this industry surges, as the demands of their customers increase. There are a lot of elements which online stores offer namely brands, value for money, addressing customer safety concerns, products that are more affordable and sustainable for the planet (as today’s consumer is cautious). Small-time Kirana shops and medicals have been having a gala time as they meet the demands of consumers who no longer go to malls and departmental stores. In lockdown, it has been witnessed that people have been hoarding more than necessary and essential items of food and medical supplies to their disposal.  

2.     Increasing use of webinars and less of contact sessions– Webinar has been one of the most widely used medium to spread information and conduct knowledge dissemination sessions in recent times. A platform known as ON24, states that March 2020 saw a jump in 330% webinars and double the number of attendees as compared to 2019. And it seems that this rising trend is here to stay. The online, video-based platform has the capability to reach widespread audience, allows for time and location flexibility. There are many industries and academic associations proposing to shift their offline training into a webinar format and adapt the material to the online world. 

3.      Online classes for schools and colleges- Another trend is observed in education sector. The learning environment for schools and colleges has turned virtual. Schools and colleges all over the world shut their physical operations soon after the first lockdown was announced by the governments. But to avoid compromising student learning, schools and colleges have resorted to online modes of classes using online tools. A survey done in late 2019, on Best Colleges sixth annual Online Education Trends, suggests that 77% of online students enrolled in their programs feel that these programs help them reach their career and employment goals. Overall, 94% students feel that online learning having a good ROI and 95% would recommend online education to others. Today, most educational institutions have shifted to online methodologies partially or completely. In another survey, post-COVID 19, students feel that online educational material can replace the textbook, but the online mode cannot replace the teacher. In the same survey, 89% agreed that the schools need to change the way curriculum is taught and 47% agreed that school teachers should start using online education portals instead of course books. 

Circumstances we face

    4.     Longer work hours for employees as they WFH- While the world has transitioned to the work-from-home mode, only the companies who require their employees’ physical presence are not in the WFH bracket. But WFH has brought excessive work hours and less physical movement for us. This has also added to work stress and a couple of pounds in these few months.  

5.      Tighter budgets for employees resulting in pay cuts, no or less salary rise and even job losses- According to a survey by Economic Times, 2 out of 5 employees are facing salary cuts. According to Financial Express, 124 millions jobs have been lost in 2 months due to COVID-19. ET also reports job loss as the most immediate, and having a severe impact of COVID-19.  This shows how far the effects of COVID-19 has on the world economy.

6.    Health  care expenses increase- One of the greatest impact of the pandemic has been on the healthcare sector, its present and future. While hospitals and private clinics have upskilled their staff and pumped in resources to take care of the affected patients, it has also increased the burden on the staff. To add to the stress on health care workers, there has been a shortage of essential PPEs. This has led to the staff to use their PPE gears for longer hours leading to other effects on their health. Recently, quite a few food websites host content on immunity boost foods, and stress on the importance of staying healthy through yoga and exercise. 

7.     Increase in online gaming industry- Another industry that has got positively impacted is the online gaming business. The lockdown has increased online gaming as one of the most popular ways of socialising and entertainment. 

Choices we make

The above circumstances and many more have put us in situations where we have become more sensitive towards collective crises and increase in the feeling of moral responsibility It has changed the way we look at various emotions like fear, risk-taking. It has changed the social norms of what we approve and disapprove of in terms of meeting and greeting, in terms of health-care and support. It has changed the way we spend. There are many who over-spent and hoarded loads in their houses and continue to do so, on the other hand many have become over cautious spenders, predicting the financial crunch they may be facing in near times. Broadly the behaviours can be classified into categories like physical, social, psychological, economic.

Here, I would like to point out, that most of us, as a reaction to the circumstances, have expressed extreme behaviours like spending too much or too little, taking extreme precautions of health to the extent of getting paranoid or taking things very lightly, showing heightened sensitivity and care or being apathetic, unconcerned and detached, slogging harder than before and working overtime or relaxing and whiling off time at home. Anything in moderation, harmony and balance is advantageous all human beings.

Achieving Balance

To summarise, I am reminded of the Greek Philosopher Aristotle, who gave the theory of Golden Mean. It stated that, there should be a balance between extremes. Right thinking cannot occur if there is anything in deficiency or in excess. Aristotle said that truth is likely to be located in the middle of extremes. He also acknowledges that desperate times do require desperate measures, which are fine if taken in extreme times. But after normalcy in circumstances is achieved, then the human being should ensure to strike a balance, a mid-way of everything, including behaviour and emotions. Although there are many theories which are proposed by Aristotle, I think, in this scenario, we should be aware of the theory of golden mean and follow it. He says that virtue lies between two vices. That means that any extreme is a vice. For example is ‘Courage’ is a virtue it sits between the extremes of ‘Cowardice’ (deficiency of the virtue) and ‘Recklessness’ (excess of the virtue). According to Aristotle, using our practical wisdom, we must determine what is virtuous, which is also the golden mean. So in every situation today we must think of what is the golden mean and choose that virtue wisely. That is going to guide us to display the right behaviour and achieve balance.