{"id":571312,"date":"2020-05-07T04:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T04:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/05\/07\/what-were-tracking-on-7-may-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-05-07T04:00:42","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T04:00:42","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-7-may-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/05\/07\/what-were-tracking-on-7-may-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 7 May 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rejoice, friends, for it is Thursday <\/strong>\u2014 and also the end of the second week of Ramadan. A handful of things we\u2019re thinking of as we get ready to slide into the weekend:<\/p>\n

<\/a> The Education Ministry is looking at how some students might return to the classroom <\/strong>in the fall<\/strong>, Education Minister Tarek Shawki told talk show host Wael El Ibrachy (watch, runtime: 33:35<\/a>). The ministry is mulling a rotation system for public schools that would see a six-day school week with students divided into three groups, each of which would spend two days in the classroom and four days learning from home each week. We\u2019re taking that as a signal students are unlikely to return to classrooms before fall. <\/strong><\/p>\n

That has us wondering what classes at private schools might look like when schools <\/strong>are \u201cback to <\/strong>normal.\u201d <\/strong>The rotation policy could be one solution. Another: Canada\u2019s Globe & Mail<\/a> looks at what\u2019s happening as some K-12 schools prepare to reopen in the province of Quebec as early as next week. The takeaway: Look for art, PE, drama and other elective classes to be cancelled and far fewer students sitting in each classroom. On the postsecondary side, Business Insider<\/a> says some high-profile US colleges are preparing for more online learning this fall, while others will take a hybrid approach, offering a mix of online learning and on-campus instruction \u2014 and no extracurricular activities to speak of.<\/p>\n

Expect lots of pressure to revise not just your seating plan, but your WFH policies <\/strong>when schools do go back into session: <\/strong>With many in the business community starting to itch about returning to our way of life pre-covid, we\u2019ve been thinking a lot about office space. We talked earlier this week about how the NYT thinks the open-plan office could be on the endangered species list<\/a>. Yesterday, Reuters<\/a> got in on the act, while the Wall Street Journal<\/a> wonders whether corporate leaders are going to turn more and more to surveillance technologies in the workplace under the guise of safeguarding employee health. Real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, meanwhile, is pushing a new office design (watch, runtime: 2:09<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But what if you love WFH and just don\u2019t wanna go back?<\/a><\/strong> Corporate leaders are going to come under pressure to re-think their work-from-home policies \u2014 particularly after schools go back (touch wood) and it becomes a lot easier for many knowledge workers to focus at home.<\/p>\n

Oh, and speaking of kids going back: <\/strong>A growing body of evidence suggests the little<\/a>ankle-biters may be important spreaders of covid-19<\/a> after all \u2014 a potentially worrisome development given the virus that causes covid appears to have mutated to become more infectious<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

News triggers to keep your eye on<\/strong> over the coming days:<\/p>\n