Werkseite · Syntagma Forschung
What Remains After Reopening
Why the social consequences of Covid go beyond turnover and opening hours
Article on the economic and social review of the pandemic
Thomas Schüller · Syntagma Forschung · ORCID 0009-0003-9799-6747 · Article · 9 November 2026 · All rights reserved A café reopens. The tables are full, orders are coming in, and everyday life seems to be back. Yet behind the open door, debts, missing reserves and additional work may remain. Reopening is a visible step. Whether the living conditions of those involved are recovering as well is not yet answered by it.
The café is an imagined example. It shows a question that arises in other businesses and institutions too: who bears the costs of an adjustment, and which of them appear in the accounts at all?
More Than an Economic Interruption
The ILO estimated the worldwide loss of working hours in 2020 at 8.8 percent compared with the last quarter of 2019. This corresponded to a work volume of 255 million full-time jobs, not to that many dismissals (ILO, 2021). Behind such magnitudes lie different occupations, households and room for manoeuvre.
Those who have reserves can wait or try out changes more easily. Those who need every bit of income are under greater pressure. A business whose turnover is rising again can also remain weakened if earlier losses consume later earnings. Its recovery would therefore also have to be measured by whether it can invest again and cover unexpected expenses.
The Work Behind the Visible Work
A business can function because relatives help without pay or employees take on additional tasks. This work does not disappear when it is not recorded. UN Women reported, from available data for 38 countries, rising unpaid work and a still larger share borne by women (UN Women, 2020).
For the imagined café this means that preparation, cleaning and organisation belong in the assessment. More turnover per paid hour is not sufficient proof of success if other working hours remain outside the accounts. Likewise, a new offer must be able to finance the work of its introduction and later upkeep.
Digitally Reachable and Still Excluded
Online offers can shorten journeys and reach new customers. But they require technology, skills and time. An ordering system with a personal alternative offers different possibilities from exclusively digital access. Economically, too, the development is uneven: UNCTAD documents growth in online retail and, at the same time, declines at travel and ride-hailing platforms (UNCTAD, 2021).
What matters, therefore, is which possibilities a specific change opens up and which new dependencies it creates. A small business can reach more people online and at the same time depend more heavily on the fees or visibility rules of an intermediary.
Strain Cannot Simply Be Organised Away
Work can mean income, relationships and recognition. The loss of a business can therefore touch more than a balance sheet. Depending on the situation, people need different kinds of support. Financial help, reliable working conditions and personal guidance each fulfil their own purpose.
The WHO reported in 2022 a worldwide rise in anxiety and depression of roughly a quarter in the first year of the pandemic (WHO, 2022). No single cause can be derived from this. For a societal view it remains important not to treat strain solely as a question of personal strength.
A Fair Decision Can Be Checked
The café wants to open longer. A sensible trial begins with a concrete goal and a complete calculation. Employees can contribute their interests and limits. Afterwards, it is considered together whether additional income arises, what work is needed and whether customers actually benefit.
Even a positive trial needs a second question: does the solution work in normal everyday operation, or only through temporary extra help? A process that only one particularly experienced person can keep going needs a substitute and shared knowledge. Otherwise its stability remains fragile.
A decision may be changed or ended. This includes an agreed review date and an accessible way to report problems. A small number of complaints does not yet prove satisfaction; a complaint, in turn, is a reason for examination, not automatic proof of guilt.
Recovery as Regained Room for Manoeuvre
A societal review must let different experiences stand side by side and examine their explanations carefully. Illnesses, protective measures, voluntary behaviour and existing problems can act together. Sweeping attributions of cause do not do justice to this situation.
Whether a change holds shows in whether people can meet their obligations, recover and influence decisions. For the café, success would then be more than a full till: the work would be fully accounted for, the hours would be plannable and the offer economically secure. These questions make societal criticism checkable in everyday life.
Sources and Classification
The figures cited refer to the pandemic period. The article combines historical findings with socially critical interpretation; it reports no investigation of its own. Editorial status 9 November 2026.
ILO (2021, 25 January). ILO: Uncertain and uneven recovery expected following unprecedented labour market crisis. https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/ilo-uncertain-and-uneven-recovery-expected-following-unprecedented-labour
UNCTAD (2021). Estimates of global e-commerce 2019 and preliminary assessment of COVID-19 impact on online retail 2020. Technical Notes on ICT for Development, No. 18. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/tn_unctad_ict4d18_en.pdf
UN Women (2020, 25 November). Whose time to care: Unpaid care and domestic work during COVID-19. https://data.unwomen.org/publications/whose-time-care-unpaid-care-and-domestic-work-during-covid-19
WHO (2022, 2 March). COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide