How the crisis is changing the workplace

How Has Work and the Workplace Changed During the Global Pandemic and What Will It Look Like in the Future?

Covid-19 has accelerated the digital transformation. The pandemic has significantly impacted how we collaborate, work, and the employer-employee relationships concerning remote work.

Until recently, it was assumed that physical workplaces fostered employee productivity and collaboration. This idea was tested, but it is no longer valid. With the world’s largest experiment in remote work (RW), we are now seeing how remote team structures are challenging and pushing companies to become more flexible. Additionally, the productivity data for remote teams may have exceeded expectations. According to McKinsey, 80% of people enjoy RW. Moreover, 41% feel more productive than before, and 28% are just as productive.

The Key Factor is How Employees Manage Their Time

RW saves a tremendous amount of time on various small and large activities, including dressing up, lunch, last-minute meetings, and notably, the commute to work. The average one-way commute time is estimated to be 26.1 minutes – that’s approximately five hours a week. If you live in a large metropolis, this time nearly doubles!

The remote work model can help companies move faster, allocate resources more efficiently, and leverage collaboration tools and other technologies more effectively to keep everyone connected in their digital workspaces. However, this can have negative consequences for employees. The boundaries between personal and work life have blurred. Some RW employees may find their days seem longer, and they are not wrong.

A recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed emails and meetings from 3.1 million people in 16 global cities. It reported that the average workday length increased by 8.2%, or 48.5 minutes, with an increase in emails. However, employees might not have worked continuously during this period and could have created more flexible schedules to account for daily interruptions.

Companies will need to monitor how these figures change and find ways to maintain employee motivation. Harvard Business School found that at least 16% of American employees will continue to work remotely after Covid-19. This will have significant implications for policies, companies, and employees and could lead to a substantial shift in workplace norms.

Despite the Size, Scope, and Intensity of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Some Work Activities Will Return to Their Previous State, at Least Temporarily. But There Will Be Lasting Changes That Will Forever Alter How We Think and Behave at Work.

1. Corporate Flexibility

People quickly learned how to work from home. When the pandemic subsides, RW will remain popular among professionals, forcing companies – even those that were not the biggest proponents of the virtual workforce – to become more flexible. Now that more people have experienced it and proven their productivity, it will be difficult for companies to take it away from their employees. A Gallup survey indicates that 54% of US workers would leave their current job for one that allows remote work.

Flexibility will be the new mantra, giving people more freedom to choose RW. Some professionals actually missed the commute and valued their personal interactions. So, the new normal will be increased flexibility.

2. Corporate Office 2.0

Your corporate office will look and function differently. Like most workplace changes, this is not a complete overhaul, just as the resume did not change when LinkedIn became a necessary tool for personal branding and career assets.

Conference rooms, meeting spaces, and video rooms will occupy much of the office space. The workplace will become a much more social environment rather than a “lockdown in the office” scenario. It will be designed to encourage interaction and community engagement, taking advantage of the time when the employee is on-site. Our humanity and relationships are what set us apart from robots. Nothing will replace those spontaneous interactions that often lead to creativity and innovation, and COVID-19 has made us appreciate these interactions more than ever.

3. Homes Adapted for Work

For many professionals, remote work proved challenging not due to isolation but because they lacked the ideal space or a dedicated home office. They did not have a place for video meetings. A GetApp survey reports that most respondents cited the lack of suitable technology for remote work as a hindrance to their success and productivity.

One of the biggest challenges people faced was internet connectivity. WhistleOut, a company providing information on mobile phone and internet services, conducted a survey of adults working remotely. 35% of respondents said that poor internet prevented them from doing their job at some point during the coronavirus crisis, and 43% said they had to use their phone as a hotspot during the crisis.

Internet connectivity in homes will improve dramatically and quickly. Home offices and even home video studios will become a priority.

4. E-Learning for All

We all know that learning is now central, and many organizations recognize that upskilling is essential for innovation and strategic advantages. Many corporate training programs include workshops. But after COVID-19, e-learning will become a more significant part of ongoing education. In-person training programs will not disappear, but they will be reserved for certain functions within the company. Face-to-face training will likely be just a small element of the curriculum. By expanding their e-learning platforms, companies quickly ensured that people continued to build important skills and develop professionally.

5. Business Attire Retires

We have become comfortable being comfortable. You may have dressed for work before COVID-19. And even if you dressed up every day during RW, you likely didn’t wear a suit or heels. Already, some consulting firms and other organizations have “dress for your day” rules, where if you are not meeting clients, you can leave the suit at home. Furthermore, people working in tech have been wearing shorts and flip-flops for decades.

6. Video Virtuosos

Video is at the heart of many of the changes mentioned above. Developers of Zoom, WebEx, Hangouts, Skype, and other video communication tools made the great work-from-home experiment possible. Video has fully integrated into the work experience in an astonishing variety of ways.

The line that separates professional and personal life is fading more and more, as supervisors and employees get used to seeing each other in their natural habitats. Ironically, technology made this transition possible but also led to a certain low-tech reality: this new corporate world has made us appreciate our organic, non-robotic humanity more than ever.

What Will Work Look Like in the Foreseeable Future and What Must Organizations Do to Adapt to These Changes?

The Role of the Workplace is Changing

With more employees working remotely, organizations will need to reassess their real estate portfolios. They will likely have a mix of owned office spaces for in-person collaboration or large team-building events but with more dispersed on-demand workspaces. Flexible coworking spaces will be a cost-effective option.

Employees Will Want the Option to Work from Anywhere

Now that remote work has become the new norm and more people enjoy flexible schedules that provide a better work-life balance, employees will likely seek organizations that offer remote work opportunities.

Culture Will Also Need to Be Digitally Reinforced

With teams distributed across cities and time zones, businesses will need to focus on attracting and retaining talent digitally. The emphasis will be on creating a culture and enhancing healthy engagement among employees to achieve desired business outcomes. We are social creatures, and work needs to get done. Organizations will need to start adapting their corporate culture to help employees thrive in the digital workspace.

Employees Will Need to Adapt Themselves

Not only is our environment changing with technology at the forefront, but we are also experiencing what the 21st century has been for the industrial revolution. We are at the beginning of a technological revolution, brimming with AI and automation, which will reshape the workplace.

As organizations consider cost-saving measures or become more comfortable with remote workers, the onus will fall on the employee’s ability to adapt to their position. If they don’t, there is a real chance they will be out of the game. Competition for jobs will be fiercer with a remote workforce. Candidates will no longer compete only with people in their city but from all corners of the globe.

Covid-19 is accelerating digital transformation on a global scale. Leadership will need to be more agile and adaptive than ever, offering flexible employee packages to attract the right talent. The traditional role of headquarters will change, and on-demand coworking spaces may help support remote workers.

Companies will be challenged to find new ways to attract, retain, and manage remote talent. Collaboration, flexibility, and culture will be paramount. New tools will be integrated into work processes, requiring employees to evolve alongside them.

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