Covid-19 crisis Relaxation of covid restrictions - late June 2021
The recent relaxation of the covid restrictions brought some life back to the food centers. Business is now becoming getting better.

This is the easy part.

It will be much more difficult to get workers back to the office. They enjoy the freedom of working from home. That freedom came with a drop in productivity that varies according to each individual and business.

There is no doubt that some workers, perhaps a high proportion, will spend some part of their time on non-work activities, like looking after the children or running personal errands. 

There is also the loss of productivity that came from interaction among colleagues. 

It will take a long time for the productivity to revert to pre-pandemic levels. 

This loss of productivity will be critical for many business in Singapore. Prior to the pandemic, the productivity is already quite low (in my opinion) due to outdated practices. This is made worse by the high cost of doing business.

I expect that the recovery will be quite difficult for many business in Singapore. The food sector may perform quite well, but other business will be a big struggle.

To overcome this problem, we need the leadership of the government in improving national productivity. They have to review the regulations and practices imposed by the government agencies. They have to set the new laws that allow the practices to be changed. 

If the government continue to let things continue as before, the productivity will continue to slide. 

I hope that the government wakes up and respond to this challenge.

Tan Kin Lian

Vote - Do you agree with my dire prediction that things will continue to get worse, if the government does not wake up.

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