We are not yet at the end of the pandemic and unfortunately there will be some surprises. So, it’s best to be prepared for the long haul.
And what if the new normality of work modes and spaces could only lead to winners?
Crises often allow us to question certain dogmas and practices and force us to ask the right questions. The objective of everyone, companies and employees alike, is to be effective and efficient, to reduce risks and optimise ‘wasted time’. The “hybrid” work model (face-to-face / remote) - at least for companies in the service sector and administrative services - ticks all the boxes:
• We optimise our travel time by only going to the office when necessary or when we want to socialise.
• We reduce our carbon footprint by using less individual and public transport.
• We can optimise work spaces because we no longer need to have the ratio of “one person = one work place”.
• Real estate and property costs are reduced by optimising space and technical installations can be run at a reduced rate.
• With an accurate working space at home, you are much more effective and efficient, as most employees clearly state in surveys.
• One can compose one’s working day not according to a fixed schedule but according to one’s personal load and components: this is exactly what the generations entering the labour market want (“work-life balance”).
We should not be naïve: there are of course some people who use this system based on trust, but should we deprive the overwhelming majority on the pretext that a few do not play the game? But to achieve a good overall result, all parties must be involved and management must know how to manage this new normality, which is not an “infused science”.
With a good framework, creative human resources and support for the project, it is in the end easy to make a lasting impact on an approach that was very often put in place in the emergency of the pandemic. The new normal has become a way of life much more quickly than most expected or hoped. Let’s make sure that these positive trends continue and that there is something in it for everyone.
May your Christmas celebrations be bright, full of beautiful things but also of indulgence and understanding, including in the world of work.
Have a good week, good thoughts and good reading.