135Kviews
People Are Sharing The One Pre-Covid-19 Thing They Refuse To Go Back To Doing (30 Posts)
The pandemic has taught us a lot. It was basically a super tough class nobody signed up for, which, for whatever reason, has taken many different shapes and forms, from total lockdown in 2020 to the stressfully uncertain year of 2021 when everything seems returning back to normal, although we know this is not exactly the case.
In fact, things may never return to our pre-Covid-19 life, and while you may feel upset about it, there are a few good things that came of it. It taught us that going to work sick is a big bold no-brainer NO, no questions asked. We know now that we don’t need hour-long, if not more, daily commutes to do our jobs.
So in order to find out what new post-pandemic values, habits and behavior we have all adopted, we took a look at this illuminating thread on r/AskReddit. “What's one thing we did before the pandemic that even if the world went back to normal you wouldn't do again?” asked u/NativeSniper, and below are the most interesting answers shared by people that really make you wonder. Aren’t we all just a tiny bit more conscious than we used to be?
This post may include affiliate links.
Go into any public space, while sick, without a mask
If I have a cold and have to nip to the drugstore for some cough syrup and Kleenex I am 100% gonna mask up.
Treat my job title like it's my family name.
Nah, I give you labor and you give me money, that's the extent of our relationship and much like anyone trading time for money, others will pay me for my time.
Not a chance I will ever again bleed, sweat or cry for a f**king employer. Never ever again.
I wish more people realize that because all of the coworkers that made my work harder by killing themselves at work (staying late, working during the holidays, etc) with no results to show for it and blaming me when I didn't do the same!
Even if COVID disappeared overnight, I'd still want strangers and casual acquaintances stay at least 6 feet away from me whenever possible.
Commute to work 1.5 hours each way 5 days a week so I can sit in my office and write emails and talk on the phone.
Won’t necessarily say never, but bowling while eating finger foods seems like a really bad idea now.
I'm a nurse.
I love my job.
Placing my job before my family and my good friends. Done with everyday. Filling in for no-shows. Existing on chimichangas and Death Wish coffees. One restroom break per shift. Sleeping only 4-hours on workdays (14-hour shifts; sometimes 24-hours), only to sleep the day and nights away when off. Being hit, bitten, groped and cursed out.
I've missed birthdays and graduations. Missed out on a lot of living.
These last two years really did me in.
Tired of being sick and tired.
I love my family and my physical and mental health more.
At least now I do. More than ever before.
Live, and let live.
Daily commute. Our company is committed to 3 days a week max in the office. I’ve been in twice since the pandemic and the colossal amount of wasted time really stunned me.
I used to spend approx. 2 hours per day on my way to the office and back. As I started to work from home last year, I used this extra time to sleep, to eat properly, to have short walks outside, to do little things that I never had time to do before. I still believe it's fantastic
I'll be avoiding big business, supermarkets, amazon, restaurant chains and multinationals. Dont know about you guys around the world but the way the little businesses were treated here in France is sickening, meanwhile Bezos et al get to swoop in and take everything. It stinks.
Supermarkets are pretty unavoidable for me, but the rest I can agree to. I'm happy to say I've only ever bought from Amazon once in my life. If a search leads me there I might use it to lead me to a product I can then search for via another supplier, but that's it.
There is a long list of people I used to respect. That's gone now.
Breathe down people’s f**king necks in the checkout lane
This is when being able to rip a reeking, awful fart is a good thing.
Overtime on salary. Pay me or go off.
There’s a lot of people I don’t care to talk to no more. Responded terribly to all this and acted so selfish. I don’t need that in my life. Bye
I have been on the fence about this for about two years (since I retired), finally deleted all my Facebook acquaintances. They don't miss me, I don't miss them. All's cool.
Live in a city for my job.
I absolutely hated going remote for the first year. emails were so much slower than just asking the guy sitting next to me, I missed making small talk, or going out for lunch, company sponsored events. I still don’t like zoom meetings but I can tolerate it now. Now that I’m farther removed I realized a lot of that was just something I was “used to” instead of something I enjoyed. My rent is almost 50% lower now and I’m only 10 miles from where I used to live downtown. I still have access to the city and if they need us in quarterly I can do a longer commute here and there. I’m not paying $200 a month for a parking spot. I get to live a quieter life in a quieter area, and when my significant other and I are ready, We’ll be able to purchase a house pretty much anywhere we want.
YES! We did that too, moved to the countryside. I used to go to work by train, 4 hours each day, but now I go by car and it's also 4 hours, but only once every 2 months or so :D
I really REALLY love the accessibility of doing Doctor visits over the phone or Zoom.
Me : I have to talk to a psychiatrist on the reg. SUPER hard for me to go out to do that - I have debilitating anxiety and going OUT to wait in waiting rooms, be seen crying as I leave a therapy session, hell even just getting myself to shower, put on makeup, and clean clothes... it's f**king impossible sometimes. Not to mention that I used to have to have my husband drive me in to the city - a 45 minute drive - and take care of our young kids during my appointments. Then make the drive back in traffic - all of which exacerbated my anxiety and guilt and fatigue.
We've both been able to access our health care providers by ZOOM and by phone. That was never an option before this. It has been amazing and honestly? The quality of our care is IMPROVED because we aren't going through panic/dissociating/fatiguing/overstimulating just to GET to the appointments and so we are able to advocate for ourselves so much better.
I understand your reasoning, but my social anxiety makes me dread being on video and not keen on the phone either. I'd much rather see my doc in person.
It's going to take a lot of money to convince me not to work from home any more
Honestly: I cant wait to work with colleagues again. Ive been holed up for the whole pandemic and I miss coworkers. Id be happy to work from home two or three days a week but i am getting kinda lonely during the day. :( EDIT: Of course only when it is safe. Im fully vaccinated and dont want to put anyone at risk.
Feeling bad about calling in
Same. Months of working from home showed me just how much unnecessary emphasis I had been putting on going into the office. From now on, if I can't go in for whatever reason (illness, death in the family) then I'll let them know, and I will not then sit at home feeling guilty about it!
I feel like minimum wage jobs will no longer be able to get away with as much as they had in the past when it comes to treating workers poorly
I think im alone in the sentiment, but i really hate this new trend of only releasing movies in theatres. I really loved the streaming releases, $30 to watch the movie on my couch in my pajamas is way less then it would cost for me to go the theatre with my wife, and if it's a kids movie that three more people. plus i make better popcorn on the stovetop than they do at the theatre.
I love theaters, but yes, this is pissing me off too. I want to just be able to sit at home with my family and not have to pay ridiculous prices for snacks I could just eat at home.
Getting hassled for calling in because you "just" have a cold. Or being expected to recover from a cold in one day.
accept people's invitations just because they invite me, not because I actually want to see them
Having a non-stop out all day go, go, go schedule. I understand now why I was constantly feeling frustrated. I was completely burnt out and had no me time. Now I don’t make so many commitments to social events, work things, extra stuff and I can’t imagine ever stretching myself so thin again.
The "Night Life". This pandemic has made me love staying home on a Friday night and not doing anything. No obligations to hang out with friends. No more FOMO. Just me alone gaming all night and waking up the next day with no hangover.
Shaking hands. Always thought it was unhygienic and unnecessary.
Work in open offices. They were waking nightmares for me even before, what with no privacy, routinely being a dull roar and requiring noise canceling headphones to be able to think clearly, and I f**king hate bosses watching me like buzzards eyeing a dying water buffalo. Now that I've worked remotely for years, including now for an absurdly well known company, I ain't coming back to your dogs**t open offices. I'll come back if you give me my own office. Oh, you won't give me one? And you want me in the office at least two days a week in Manhattan for your opportunity? Hard pass.
Oh god, that office in the photo is horrendous. I haven't worked in an office for a long time but when I did it was never set up like battery hens.
Watch or read mainstream news. Negativity is more profitable than positivity.
Idk about a one thing, but I certainly am very careful about what I touch and the people I'm around. When I'm in public I try and stay spaced out and not touch anything if not necessary.
I always was very aware of this before the pandemic and now I feel like I fit in better
Kissing people as a greeting.
never understood it.
tried to avoid it.
wont do it again.
Always found it weird when you see say, a politician, kissing women on the cheek - other politicians or their wives. But they never kiss the males. It's so weirdly outdated.
My mask is staying with me forever now. I havent been sick once since the pandemic started and I plan to keep it thay way.
Birthday cake / candles
“Here, I exhaled heavily on this, please eat it.
First slice goes to the one celebrating. Then the candles are added and blown out away from the rest of the cake. I wish I'd thought of it years ago!
Trust my community to do the right thing
i came off most social media due to the amount of "friends" i had who where not who i thought they where , or as bright , lots of antri vaxxers and micro chips for Bill Gates BS . all right wing propaganda , needless to say they aint friends no more , cant be done with cray cray
As a teacher, have kids turn in physical copies of work.
Every student has a laptop or chromebook now due to remote learning and it's gonna stay that way, so everything is turned in digitally. It's so nice being able to just upload the work I want them to do without having to bother making copies and hope that the machines aren't down, and I just grade everything on the computer. No more having kids tell me they handed me an assignment and accusing me of losing it, I can just check to see if they submitted it or not. It makes my life so much easier and it saves a ton of paper.
Sadly in NZ there are still many kids who can't afford those devices or wifi at home. So not gonna happen here.
Also here in Germany its a problem, sometimes they use the parents computer (if they have one) but the parents also have to work on it. Depends on the income of the family, not all are well equiped. Some teachers are understanding, some not.
Load More Replies...
Our kids’ school here in NE Ohio, USA. They supplied every child from K-12 with a chromebook even if they already had their own laptop. If they didn’t have wifi at home, the school supplies that too (hot spots maybe?)
My daughter had to get a loan laptop from the school. She still had to paper work and I had to purchase printer or take pictures of her work. It was a pain in the a**e and very limiting.
Believe me, in America a vast swath of America... there is STILL no internet service, or it's too slow to use, or it's too expensive to have. A very large portion of America is still this way. And that's after the large communications companies were gifted 4 Billion dollars to spread the infrastructure across America just as the Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to every single place in America, even in the deserts! But instead they rewarded their stockholders with a boon. They stole the money and aren't being held accountable. The communication companies must be broken up immediately.
Restaurants not doing carry out. My 2 favorite local places outright refused to do carry out until the pandemic hit. I really hope they dont end it. I love getting the food my wife and i enjoy but being able to go home and eat it without a bunch of randos around.
Clubbing. Being charged to hang out in a room chock full of sweaty people while sweating your ass off yourself while being charged an exorbitant amount for a watered down alcoholic drink so you can get drunk enough to actually enjoy the experience? I’ll just stick to getting drunk with my friends thanks
Eat at a buffet. You can give me sneeze guards, face masks, hand sanitizer, and food handler gloves and I will still pass it up!
I loved all you can eat buffets
We'll probably keep ordering most groceries via curbside pickup. It's convenient, and we spend less on stupid [junk] we happen to walk past on the way to the milk aisle.
We'll still go inside for stuff like produce, though. The store employees just don't seem to pick the best fruit and vegetables. Also, the bakery is right next to the produce, and it's nice to pick up some stupid [things] while you're shopping.
Using TP.
I got a bidet...
Umm… just read the manual (again). You're not supposed to use a Bidet *instead* of toilet paper but after it.
I hope that it will be normal to wear a mask when you're sick and have to go out in public. I'm afraid that won't happen though, because people here don't seem to understand that you protect OTHERS by wearing a mask, not yourself, and the government does nothing to educate people.
I think people will forget about this pandemic, just like all the others before it, and go back to normal life. People forget quickly, and that's a good thing.
That isn't strictly true. Many changes came about from past pandemics that stuck around. Practices like proper ventilation and heating in particular were some of the biggest benefits to society that the 1918 flu pandemic gave us.
Load More Replies...
Ahaha! Ahahaaha! Ahaha... ha... ha... *Looks out window to see rubble everywhere*
Last year was the first year I never had a cold. I'm sure as heck wearing a mask when in public so I never even get a cold. I hate being sick!
Probably won't be going to the store for groceries anymore. Too much time and frustration when I could just have them delivered while I'm snuggling on the couch with my dog.
A) I won't go grocery shopping any longer. It's easier to use Instacart and get it delivered than to face the hordes of crabby shoppers and those god-cursed self checkout things. I get what I need, and I'm helping support someone who (hopefully!) enjoys shopping. B) I will now always wear a mask on public transport - especially during flu season. C) I will now always carry hand sanitizer and use it after I get off the bus or train.
I've had bad experiences with Instacart (serious overcharging, not getting the one thing I really need, etc) and really prefer Shipt.
Load More Replies... 
I have always found pitch-ins to be gross. I am so glad they are going out of style with this pandemic.
Load More Replies...
Homeschool is a blessing! No more school schedules, no more parents gaterings, no more morning fights over 5 more minute or the bathroom... no more dayli loads or laundry, no more frustating and frustrated teachers... Hope schools never open again
I won't bow down to anyone who has more qualifications than me again. I care for people with learning disabilities and when all the nurses left at the beginning of covid to go back to the NHS or furlough us carers had to do everything the nurses did before as our clients still needed caring for. We did everything the nurses do plus caring for people who had covid (which was brought in by a manager not us) we did medication, personal care, dealt with clients having serious mental issues due to not understanding what was going on on top of dealing with our own families and risking taking covid home to them and working crazy hours to cover the missing staff. When the nurses started coming back we were expected to treat them like returning hero's. No mate, I've been doing your job for half the money for nearly 2 years while all the hospitals were empty. You're not a hero you are a jumped up clown with an education and a messiah complex
I will never again wear an underwire bra. I will never again go into a store without a mask on. I'm not sure if I'll ever again go to the theater, or concert.
I think some of these people are going to be surprised and disappointed when their bosses replace them with people who *will* do the commute to the office and put in the overtime.
I hope that it will be normal to wear a mask when you're sick and have to go out in public. I'm afraid that won't happen though, because people here don't seem to understand that you protect OTHERS by wearing a mask, not yourself, and the government does nothing to educate people.
I think people will forget about this pandemic, just like all the others before it, and go back to normal life. People forget quickly, and that's a good thing.
That isn't strictly true. Many changes came about from past pandemics that stuck around. Practices like proper ventilation and heating in particular were some of the biggest benefits to society that the 1918 flu pandemic gave us.
Load More Replies... Ahaha! Ahahaaha! Ahaha... ha... ha... *Looks out window to see rubble everywhere*
Last year was the first year I never had a cold. I'm sure as heck wearing a mask when in public so I never even get a cold. I hate being sick!
Probably won't be going to the store for groceries anymore. Too much time and frustration when I could just have them delivered while I'm snuggling on the couch with my dog.
A) I won't go grocery shopping any longer. It's easier to use Instacart and get it delivered than to face the hordes of crabby shoppers and those god-cursed self checkout things. I get what I need, and I'm helping support someone who (hopefully!) enjoys shopping. B) I will now always wear a mask on public transport - especially during flu season. C) I will now always carry hand sanitizer and use it after I get off the bus or train.
I've had bad experiences with Instacart (serious overcharging, not getting the one thing I really need, etc) and really prefer Shipt.
Load More Replies... I have always found pitch-ins to be gross. I am so glad they are going out of style with this pandemic.
Load More Replies... Homeschool is a blessing! No more school schedules, no more parents gaterings, no more morning fights over 5 more minute or the bathroom... no more dayli loads or laundry, no more frustating and frustrated teachers... Hope schools never open again
I won't bow down to anyone who has more qualifications than me again. I care for people with learning disabilities and when all the nurses left at the beginning of covid to go back to the NHS or furlough us carers had to do everything the nurses did before as our clients still needed caring for. We did everything the nurses do plus caring for people who had covid (which was brought in by a manager not us) we did medication, personal care, dealt with clients having serious mental issues due to not understanding what was going on on top of dealing with our own families and risking taking covid home to them and working crazy hours to cover the missing staff. When the nurses started coming back we were expected to treat them like returning hero's. No mate, I've been doing your job for half the money for nearly 2 years while all the hospitals were empty. You're not a hero you are a jumped up clown with an education and a messiah complex
I will never again wear an underwire bra. I will never again go into a store without a mask on. I'm not sure if I'll ever again go to the theater, or concert.
I think some of these people are going to be surprised and disappointed when their bosses replace them with people who *will* do the commute to the office and put in the overtime.
