COVID is the Bubonic Plague – at least culturally speaking. I realize it’s easy to compare pandemics and statistics and live very fear-forward – but that’s not the purpose of this. Quite the opposite, actually. Every day we’re hearing about how the stock markets are crashing and recovering in ways never seen before, including post-WWII. We are constantly watching the infection numbers and the death tolls rise as messages of STAY AT HOME are strewn across our TV, social media and news outlets. Of course, we want to #StopTheSpread and stop living in a daily fear of “is this just a crumb in my throat or have I caught it?”
Well, during this pandemic and my 16th day of “shelter-in-place,” I’ve been doing what I do best – observing. I’m watching the way our neighbors, our first responders, our minimum-wage workers, our furloughed and laid-off friends, our high-risk family members, our corporations and governments are reacting, thinking and communicating about the situation we are in. The one thing everyone seems to be able to agree on is, “it’s all going to be so different after this.”
Well, yea. Because COVID is the Bubonic Plague. Now it’s been several years since I sat in an Art History class, but the one thing I remember, and at the time was intrigued by, is just how drastically different European culture changed from pre- to post-Bubonic Plague. It marks the transition from Middle Ages to Renaissance for a reason. Everything from improved healthcare (i.e. WASHING YOUR HANDS) to a re-birth and appreciation for the arts, to disruptions in politics and business-as-usual. These exact same cultural changes are happening right now, before our eyes. And just like the Bubonic Plague, many of these changes are for the better.
Sure, my optimism is probably a coping mechanism brought on by hearing my dog chewing on her Kong ball for the 10th straight hour today, but I’m truly excited to see all the lasting good that will come out of this. I’ve been working in, studying or purely observing the Social Purpose space more than ten years now, and each and every day we’ve progressed just a little bit further through Corporate Responsibility, grass-roots activations, Public Diplomacy and more. But COVID, in under three weeks, has launched us into purpose progress that we weren’t on par to see for probably another ten years or more. My sincere belief is the effects will be long lasting, if only for one reason: the public now knows it can be done.
In the shortest time possible we’ve seen red tape and funding release to help those in need. We’ve seen logistics get figured out and previously deemed “unusual” partnerships form for the sake of larger benefit. While those focusing on politics are deeming this socialism, many of these acts are corporate-owned, not government owned. And seemingly overnight, corporations have taken it upon themselves to utilize their resources to help the greater good. Instead of taking months to ladder an idea up the chain of command, they’ve taken hours. They’ve changed production to create hand sanitizer or ventilators. They’ve re-activated employees, trucks and airplanes to deliver food and supplies to those in need. Ships are becoming make-shift hospitals. Yes, some of these examples are necessary for the situation and clearly won’t be long-term as business returns to some resemblance of what it once was, but the point isn’t about what they’re specifically doing right now – it’s that they’re showing the world giant corporations can pivot on a dime to make an appropriate and needed impact.
In the last few days one of the emerging trends is CEO’s of major corporations taking pay cuts to avoid layoffs. Yes, this is a great thing to do, but let’s take a more critical eye. Most CEOs and/or Board Members technically make a six-figure salary. But they are then rewarded with bonuses and stocks, which typically pushes their annual income to a seven-plus figure salary. For years we’ve heard from “low-level” employees and unions that they need a “living wage” (the exact amount tends to be $15 an hour for most states, but the exact number fluctuates depending on where you are or the source of the information). Now, these two items combined make for the perfect storm of immediate corporate responsibility and a cultural shift in how businesses operate.
An argument I often hear against providing these workers a “living wage” is that those working in low-level ranks such as grocery store clerks or waitresses or janitors are either deemed “uneducated” or “haven’t worked hard enough to rise the ranks” or even “those jobs were meant for teenagers to pay their way through college, not for grown adults to support families” and therefore are unworthy of making a higher wage. Without getting into the myriad of issues with these beliefs, the simple fact of the matter is when the country fell into this pandemic, these “uneducated,” “lazy,” “undeserving” individuals are the ones we are relying on the most to keep our country moving.
Now, keeping government regulations out of the discussion, let’s take a look at the afore-mentioned executive compensation. An argument I often here about the sometimes-asinine amount of annual income C-suite executives make is that they’re “educated,” “hard-working” and “have to support their families.” Quite the opposite perception from those working for them and, again, not always accurate. Now, I understand that the role of a Board, CEO and other C-suite executives is necessary to drive the strategic direction and growth of a company. I’m not saying that their responsibilities are not necessarily higher than those in low-level positions. However, you can’t have one without the other – it’s a symbiotic relationship that we’ve lost sight of, deeming one more pertinent than the other. But the reality is, they’re equal. You need the executive oversight to develop strategy for the success of the business and you need low-level employees to implement strategy for the success of the business. Remove one and the success of the other falters.
Currently, many CEOs of large public corporations have elected to stop receiving their salaries to re-distribute the funds in an effort to 1) avoid layoffs or furloughs, 2) keep their businesses afloat in the short-term, or 3) provide employees with bonuses or pay increases as their demand has increased. This doesn’t mean that CEOs won’t be getting a pay-out from their businesses – this is where their stock bonuses come in. They’ll be getting paid, just not likely until the end of their fiscal year. Which begs the question: why can’t this be the norm?
If Board Members and C-suite executives receive the majority of their compensation from stocks and bonuses, and they’ve proven that they can redistribute funds to provide better compensation or avoid lay-offs, then why haven’t they done it before? Now, the answer to that doesn’t really matter – because now they’re doing it as a crisis response and they’re getting credit for it meaning that the public is taking notice. The long-term effect could then be that it’ll continue post-pandemic resulting in a complete and utter shift in how businesses operate. A cultural shift in how we believe and expect businesses to operate. No government regulation needed. Corporations doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.
Perhaps this example seems outlandish, but if you look around there are plenty of other examples shifting our culture in ways not seen as dramatically as since the Bubonic Plague’s spread across Europe: a renewed appreciation for the arts through our unlimited Netflix binging, free virtual concerts, using our new-found time to practice painting or sewing or some other art form; an increase in gratitude for the teachers who educate and love “their” children; a decrease in “hoops” to jump through for medical testing, funding and capacity; more respect for our neighbors.
So, what’s the long-term result? A redistribution of priorities? A short-lived cultural shift? The transition from the 4th Industrial Revolution to the 21st Century Renaissance.
Janine De Iorio 