It’s odd how companies have always had rules to which they had strictly adhered, but the lockdowns and behavioral changes brought several other necessary changes and issues to light, and always important for founders to observe and find that white space in the landscape that need that needs to be filled.  In terms of the current work landscape, for example, employees are not only working from home, but presently, sometimes from a home that might be thousands of miles away from the office. Suddenly, we can not only work remotely: it has been more or less mandatory for months and considering that 500K+ residents have already permanently left NYC, that trend may well continue.  No worries: we’ve proven that we can work for a NYC-based company, even if we’re in, say, Ohio. Zoom is the new normal and the stock price, yes, zoomed.

Not surprisingly, tracking devices on employees’ computers are also becoming the new normal.  Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean your boss isn’t watching you, Vox reported. In fact, “Software that monitors remote employees is seeing a sales boom.” Speaking of Zoom, “The videoconferencing software, for example, used to allow hosts on its paid service to turn on something called “attention tracking.” This feature let them see if meeting attendees navigated away from the app for longer than 30 seconds during a meeting, which served as a good indication that they were looking at something else. It couldn’t see what they were looking at instead, and it could only be activated when the host was in screen-sharing mode… the company disabled the feature after widespread outcry, which demonstrates how much people dislike features like these and why employers should exercise discretion if and when they use them.”

We’re sure something similar will show up again, if hasn’t already.

Employers also have the ability to track your cellphone. As CPA Practice Advisor reports, “Several software companies sell tracking applications designed for use on employer-provided devices. They automatically generate location reports throughout the day. The apps are supposed to shut down when the employee clocks out… Many devices allow owners to locate the device on a map with just a click–potentially revealing an employee’s whereabouts even when he or she is not working.”

Trackers are not limited to employer-provided devices, either, by the way.

And question: how does this fit in with the work/life balance issue about which the industry was so obsessed not too long ago?

Opportunity Zones

As for entrepreneurial opportunities – let’s take the masks themselves, particularly the surgical masks that many people now wear: When you wear them for an extended period of time, it does cut down on your oxygen intake and ups your CO2 levels. One of the problems in the medical community is hospital deaths, often due to physician error and note to self: surgeons, particularly those performing brain and spinal surgery, spend hours on end performing those surgeries on a single patient – without taking breaks, save for the occasional ‘nature break’ and since the operating room is a sterile environment, presumably without removing their masks. These surgeries require fine motor coordination, and absolute attention to detail. Now that we’ve all been wearing them and know how the masks effect us, are those masks one of the causes of physician error and may be time for a redesign? There are also sometimes positive outcomes in the law of unintended consequences. If you’re paying attention and are moved to build a better mousetrap.

Since we’ve all been spending more time preparing our meals at home and stocking our fridges, we personally have to ask: Why don’t refrigerators have pull out shelves to keep all of their contents handy? Kitchen cabinets often do.

We’re specifically referring to the backs of refrigerators, where one tends to store products that we use less frequently, and they’re often forgotten until they’re little more than a science project. We are aware that there are smart/connected fridges out there that will tell you the appliance’s contents: not everyone can afford or particularly wants one of them.  Again, could be a good back of the napkin project for you.

A bit off topic, but a question: many virtual events that are held these days are free? Is one’s time perceived as being worth less when the speakers and attendees are not all in the same room? And what are the implications for remote employment?

You are entrepreneurs: ask questions, look at the white spaces and/or the evidence, think outside of the box. It’s important for entrepreneurs to look at all sides of an equation: observation is all – as is the ability to see around corners.  Wear your masks if and when necessary, fine, but never forget to show your true colors as we go onward and forward.