{"id":3000012778,"date":"2020-04-28T13:34:35","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T17:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=3000012778"},"modified":"2021-05-20T14:09:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T18:09:56","slug":"what-the-world-can-learn-from-china-return-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/research-insights\/expert-insights\/what-the-world-can-learn-from-china-return-to-work","title":{"rendered":"What the world can learn from China\u2019s return to work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The coronavirus pandemic has upended life in major cities around the world. Even as businesses eventually start reopening<\/a> and people return to the office, the workplace will see some major changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mainland China, which experienced peak contagion in January and February, began slowly reopening the country<\/a> in March. There is much the world can learn from the new approaches that businesses there have taken to keep people safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A different social landscape<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It took close to two months after the first reported coronavirus infections for life in mainland China to return to some semblance of normalcy and for employees to return to the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But everyday life doesn\u2019t look the same as it did before the virus struck. Many schools are still closed<\/a>, as are day care centers. It\u2019s more difficult to hire in-home helpers. Finding adequate childcare<\/a> has been a major struggle for those returning to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big challenge is public transportation. Crowded trains and buses are raising fears about further potential virus transmission in these closed spaces. And with so many people taking private cars or taxis to avoid public transportation, traffic is already ramping back up<\/a> in many Chinese cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China has acted quickly and effectively to use technology to trace potentially infected people. Each city has a system<\/a> tied to a citizen\u2019s phone via the social platform WeChat, which checks the phone\u2019s location and shows via a color-coded system whether that individual has been exposed to an infected person. Workers are often required to display the app before entering the office to confirm they aren\u2019t supposed to be self-quarantining. <\/p>\n\n\n