Did You Know?

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business sector won’t be known for years to come, though a recent survey indicates that a drop in post-pandemic productivity is not something many businesses expect. In a 2020 survey of leading firms in Europe that were asked a variety of questions about the potential long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, the European Central Bank found that 60 percent of respondents felt that productivity in their business or sector would increase. In addition, the ECB reported that most respondents were not anticipating any long-term, pandemic-related negative effects on sales. The ECB theorizes that the rosy outlook in terms of productiv ity reflects how so many businesses were able to successfully adapt on the fly at the onset of the pandemic, proving they were capable of maintaining existing levels of production despite sudden restrictions on labor that resulted from social distancing measures, such as the necessary transition from in person labor to remote working.