What McKinsey Says About the Post-Pandemic World

We know there’s no going back to life before the pandemic. Jobs, meetings, grocery shopping, and therapy appointments are reconfigured for a new era. However, how does one make sense of all these changes on a macro level? What do these changes mean for the future? Thankfully, researchers at McKinsey have run the numbers and condensed the results, showing us twelve thought-provoking insights into the post-pandemic economy and the opportunities therein. We’re highlighting six of the twelve points below. Read the full report here.

1. The switch to remote work, coupled with operational adjustments at many industries, has resulted in a rise in productivity. Healthcare has made the most gains, by swapping in-office waiting rooms for telemedicine zoom calls. Second is construction, which has innovated in modular building, like Cover’s offering for backyard home building for those out-of-work uncles or away-from-the-kids home offices.

2. Some behaviors adopted during the pandemic are here to stay. People aren’t in any hurry to return to the grocery store. and many continue to visit doctors, therapists, and dermatologists online, wherever possible.  Good news for Misfits Market & Ginger.

3. Real estate, mainly tied up in landownership, holds up to two-thirds of all global assets. No wonder real estate tech is booming, with private companies like RealPage earning annual revenues in the billions and Ribbon helping buyers compete in a competitive market by providing all-cash offers. 

4. Top-growth investors invest in intangible assets such as intellectual property, research, technology, software, and human capital nearly three times as much as lower-growth investors.

5. Rejuvenating sectors like auto manufacturing, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, among others, could add 1.5 million jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars to the economy in the U.S. Kingston Technology and Aprecia Pharmaceuticals are two examples of U.S. manufacturing companies that have shown consistent revenue growth.

6. Closing the pay and representation gap for Black workers would add $220BN into the economy. Jopwell is one company trying to advance careers for BIPOC professionals.

Stay tuned for more year-in-review content as we round out 2021.