Zurich has issued a report containing fresh insights about national economic responses to the pandemic and how the future of the world of work and social protection have in many ways already arrived.

In the report, Zurich took stock of the ways in which COVID-19 was reshaping the global labor landscape and the gaps between ideal post-pandemic social protection and what currently exists. The report made the case for a new social contract - one in which public health and welfare institutions can work together to ensure that entire populations are resilient to public health risks, create flexible worker protections and raise individuals' awareness of the risks and opportunities they face.

According to the report, over the second half of the last decade, growth in the global economy accelerated, leaving behind the financial crises that plagued it from 2008 onwards. The COVID-19 pandemic brought this growth to an abrupt halt almost simultaneously around the world in early 2020.

As governments sought to contain the spread of the virus, they were compelled to shut down their economies throughout 2020 and into 2021. As unemployment rose, the crisis was an awakening for many, prompting them to redefine their relationship with their work and to take stock of the financial risks they face during their working lives and into retirement.

In this follow-up report, Zurich drilled down into global trends, bringing local color and texture to this emerging new social contract. They spoke to leaders at 17 of Zurich's country offices across five continents, gathering insights about national economic responses to the pandemic and how the future world of work and social protection has in many ways already arrived.

COVID-19 is reshaping the landscape of reskilling, awareness of and action on retirement savings gaps, the market for insurance, and the relationship between public and private provision of vaccines and other protections against the virus's spread.

"While we were aware of an emerging concept (and in some jurisdictions, established legal provision) that employers were expected to provide their workers a "duty of care" - that is, responsibility for their overall wellbeing rather than simply providing them with a job and pay - we found that this concept resonates across all countries, albeit with a varying focus on different aspects of worker wellbeing and with different rationales for why a duty of care matters to employers and employees."

You can find the full insights of the report here.