For many of us the coronavirus has been one of the most significant, and most terrifying experiences of our lives. It will have a huge impact on us as individuals, as a society and as a workforce. Although it seems impossible, this situation will come to an end, and life will go back to normal. Some of us though will have to adapt to a new normal.
When a major event happens that passes as an existential threat, many of the norms of life change. Some for a short term but others for a long term. After the corona virus situation ends many of the changes that were implemented during the pandemic will evaporate. Things will go back to normal. This pandemic will leave a monumental impact on the workforce as it forces employers and employees to re-evaluate their pre-COVID-19 work life.
As the corona virus disrupts economies throughout the world, employers and employees must adapt to quarantine and lock down. They need to prepare for one of the worst global recessions. Not only these workplace challenges will affect employees today, but they’ll also have a big impact on the workforce of tomorrow.
Organisations that have adapted well to the COVID-19 working environment are embracing remote working. Which gives employees more flexibility, and finding ways to become more resilient in the face of major disruptions. Major companies have also prioritised worker health and well-being. Below, we’ll explore the changes that will be implemented in further detail. We will show you how this pandemic is forcing business leaders and employees; to reconsider their existing work practices and office life.
Changes that happened after Covid-19 at workplaces:
Corporate flexibility.
People quickly figured out how to work from home. When the pandemic subsides, Work From Home will remain popular with professionals, and that will force companies become more flexible. Now that more people have had a taste of it and proven their productivity, it will be hard for companies to take it away from their talent.
And while professionals were celebrating their 30-second commute, it became clear to companies that the huge line item on their spreadsheets for real estate may not be the best way to spend their money. Having people work from home even if it’s not everyone all the time is proving to be profitable.
Yet we won’t see a wholesale move to remote work. Flexibility will be the new mantra where people will be given more freedom to choose to work from home. Some professionals actually missed the commute and cherished their in-person connections. So the new normal will be increased flexibility.
Headquarters 2.0
Your cooperate offices will look and operate different. When workers go back to work, temperature checks and social distancing will likely be implemented. And that will persist for a while. But once there are medical breakthroughs like treatments and vaccines, offices will be more about interaction and community. Heads-down focus on individual productivity will not be as important. Conference rooms, meeting spaces and video studios will take up a lot of office space. The workplace will become a far more social environment, not a “lock myself in the office” scenario. It will be designed to foster and promote interaction and community engagement. Nothing will take the place of those beneficial interactions that often lead to creativity and innovation, and COVID-19 has made us appreciate those interactions more than ever.
Uptake of technology
When the pandemic came upon us, millions of people around the world were told to start working from home. They turned to technology to adapt their way of working. Working as a team when working remotely heavily relies on online tools. Face-to-face meetings were replaced with online conference calls . It gave the staff the opportunity to access meetings from their living rooms, saving time and money. These online platforms overcame the barriers of remote working and kept people connected. They made working from home more convenient by allowing colleagues to keep working together on projects.
E-learning
We all know that learning is now front and centre, and many organisations realise that up-skilling and right-skilling are essential for innovation and strategic advantage. Many of those corporate learning programs used to be in person workshops and seminars. After the Covid-19 pandemic though everything became electronic. That’s how E-learning was evolved and keep evolving. Ramping up their e-learning platforms, companies moved quickly to ensure that their people were still building important skills and developing professionally.
Asynchronous Communication
When teams are geographically distributed, their work can’t be dependent on a location or time . We’re not working in controlled environments anymore. The need to be flexible enough to account for conflicting meeting schedules, time zone gaps, or household interruptions is important. Embracing asynchronous communication channels like email, google doc comments,etc. converts team dynamics into a transparent, continuous flow of information sharing, so you can pick up right where you left off, 5 minutes or 5 days later.
Business attire is retiring
We got comfortable with getting comfortable. You may have dressed up for work before COVID-19. Even if you got dressed up, every day while working from home, it’s unlikely that you put on a suit or heels.
Contact Me Today!
If you are interested in working from home, then message me today for a free one-on-one session on how you too can start working remotely from home! It’s a great New Opportunity!
