New Normal, Its Trace and Message

Kompas/Priyombodo

Ninok Leksono

“Forget about the Next Big Thing. The next thing has started. It’s called the New Normal, and 2003 will be the first full year of it. The New Normal isn’t where you wait for the next boom. It’s about the rest of your life.” (Roger McNamee, in Polly LeBarre article titled “The New Normal” in Fast Company magazine, 30 April 2003. English Language & Usage)

These days, there is no phrase as popular or a bigger object of news coverage and talk shows on mainstream media and social media, as “new normal”. Various groups, ranging from journalists, sociologists to bureaucrats, discuss this phrase, starting from its linguistic structure to how to enforce it for the community.

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Those who are interested in linguistic affairs, especially the grammatical aspect, would comment, "Isn\'t ‘normal’ an adjective? Why is it juxtaposed with another adjective [new]? In Indonesian, shouldn’t it be ‘new normalcy’?”

Others have argued that the word normal in ‘new normal’ is a noun, as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said during his visit to a shopping mall in Bekasi and the MRT station at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Tuesday (26/05/2020), which is a new life order dictated by the pandemic era.

We accept new normal, which this daily newspaper defined as “normal baru” in Indonesian, more than just a semantic or linguistic issue.

Western movie enthusiasts may still remember a catchy title from a 1966 movie, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. In this title, adjectives are used to refer to figures (people). Music lovers may also remember one line of the lyrics from "The Impossible Dream" (Quixote, "Man of La Mancha"), which mentions “To right the unrightable wrong”. In this song, "wrong" represents a problem that cannot be corrected.

We accept new normal, which this daily newspaper defined as “normal baru” in Indonesian, more than just a semantic or linguistic issue. The new normal associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is a new order that can be temporary or can also be permanent.

In contemporary history, a new normalcy in life emerged in the United States following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) and Pentagon. Following the terrorist attacks, travel and security were tightened, especially in civil aviation.

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The new normal phrase then penetrated into various other domains, from business-economy to environmental management.

At the IMF Forum

Kompas

IMF projections for April 2020

In the financial community, the person who introduced the new normal was Mohamed El-Erian, who used the term in his 2010 lecture at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forum titled "Navigating the New Normal in Industrial Countries". This lecture illustrates the financial crisis that swept the world the previous year, which changed the global economy and gave birth to a new normal in the form of lower growth structurally.

Actually the term “new normal” has existed before the financial crisis and El-Erian\'s lecture. In 2003, a venture capitalist, who was also a musician, Roger McNamee, used this term to describe an environment in which various possibilities would be present for those who wanted to play with new rules for the long term.

McNamee\'s thought also contained a warning that people should not fall into the "tyranny of urgency". That thought was outlined in a book entitled The New Normal: Great Opportunities in A Time of Great Risk, written by Mike Ryan, UBS Global wealth management chief investment officer, on his LinkedIn account.

Ryan added that his search for the new normal took him to a realm that had nothing to do with economics, markets or technology.

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Previously, Vicki Taylor, in 2002 wrote the book The New Normal: How FDNY Firefighters are Rising to the Challenge of Life After September 11. The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is an institution in New York City that is responsible for dealing with fire or other dangerous incidents. Vicki, a member of the FDNY Assistance Service Unit, in her book tells the story of the lives of the first aid workers during Sept. 11, 2001, which changed fundamentally following the attack on the World Trade Center and how they adapted to these changes.

In the financial economy, Ryan argued, the term new normal is well able to describe the slow and disappointing macro environment after the global financial crisis. However, the post-crisis 2009 new normal turned out to lead to conditions that looked a little like the old normal.

For those interested in knowing the new normal beyond the past two decades, they can look into the era after the end of World War I. One of the earliest ones to appear is Henry Wise Wood\'s article titled "Beware!" at the National Electric Light Association Bulletin in December 1918. There was also the question of when the new normal was born, not as an adjective such as "new normal productivity", but as a freestanding phrase.

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In the context of change, human beings are actually confronted with change after change, which leads to new conditions or orders. However, it must be admitted that the journey of civilization is not always gradual, small or insignificant, but also not infrequently dramatic or disruptive, which causes major shocks. Then it gave birth to the so-called "new normal", which is different from "old normal".

In the concept of evolution, a new normal can also be defined as a test for humans as a superior species to remain adaptive in facing various massive challenges that are global. In the context of change, as a matter of fact, new normal will continue to emerge.

KOMPAS/KRISTI UTAMI

Tegal Station is preparing to welcome a new normal. In addition to limiting physical distance between people, the station manager also provides hand washing facilities and body temperature measurement facilities.

COVID-19 message

With its tremendous power, the invisible coronavirus devastated the status quo or old normal. Humans have to coexist (peacefully and involuntarily because they still have no weapons to fight it). Humans inevitably have to be good at managing their life or lifestyle following what is required in order to avoid being infected with the virus.

Although the reverberation of new normal is so strong, in business there are still many things that have to adjust. In addition to being regulated by protocol, such as shopping malls have to limit the number of visitors, mall operators must definitely accept the substantial change in consumer habits. The reality is that consumer behavior is changing fundamentally and so much is changing, and the question is, “Will it go back?” (VentureXchange, 3/5/2020).

Some people think, if the new normal can be justified, for example working from home (WFH), it may be that WFH will become a new lifestyle that must be accepted. Companies can reduce their lease for office space, but office building owners would lose tenants. This is part of the new normal element that is expected to be widely accepted.

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the new normal — which is full of restrictions in various fields —implies the prospect of slow growth for the next year. Governments and business leaders are confronted with different ways of managing their affairs, and this means they must move out of their comfort zones and as VentureXchange has mentioned they must have the courage to abandon what is now called "traditional".

New normal has de facto already become part of our life.

There are growing concerns because as the new normal is approaching, many sides talk more about economic and business issues. In fact, we actually must focus on the original problem, namely state of emergency related to human health. The message here is that the government and companies should do better than just talk about economy and profits.

New normal has de facto already become part of our life, starting from the most basic at the individual level: washing hands with soap, wearing masks and keeping a physical distance. Although it must also be said that it has not been practiced by all people in the community.

The new normal does not need to be debated anymore because, as stated by Forbes contributor Josie Cox on April 22 (22/4/2020), what is contained in the new normal will soon become “common” (ordinary) even though there are gradations due to differences in people’s acceptance. Some consider the new normal scary and challenging, but there are also those who see it having the power to change and enlighten.

El-Eiran\'s statement in 2010, which said that the crisis (in 2009) did not only hurt meat but also cut "bones", might sound excessive. But it sounded more fitting for the COVID-19 crisis. Given COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work and interact and we don\'t know whether we can be back to normal life long after the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) enforcement and now the new normal, we must set a success target. First, the success in curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Second, the success in maintaining people\'s welfare. Otherwise, the new normal is just a cliché.