Along with all the chaos, panic, and uncertainty it caused, the pandemic has taught the corporate world some valuable lessons. Situations which seemed unlikely, were embraced. Tasks and teams, re-defined and re-aligned. But now, with the normality battling the peaks and troughs of new waves, it is quite certain that some trends from the pandemic work culture are likely to continue after the end of the pandemic.
Let us understand what the new normal may look like for corporates.
Hybrid Work Model
The shake-up of workforces amidst the mass-layoffs, forced companies to find a way for their employees to deliver results remotely. With a few industry exceptions, most conformed to this rather quickly. While work from home was considered a perk earlier, it became a quintessential part of the pandemic work culture. But with waning restrictions and uncertainty surrounding the severity of new variants, companies have begun expressing their wish to bring employees back to the office. At least for a few days a week.
With most employees, across various sectors, having found their balance between professional and personal lives, going back to working full time at an office location does not seem appealing.
Thus enters the concept of hybrid work model, where companies have been proposing that their employees work from home for a certain part of the week, while attending the office location for the remainder of the days. This attempt at maintaining professionalism in many sectors, is likely to linger for a while, after the threat of the pandemic drowns.
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Prioritisation of Employees
Before the ongoing pandemic, there was a heavy inclination towards purely catering to the needs of the consumers. The “customer first” ideology was placed above all. But with the recent wave of mass-resignations, employers are cautious towards retaining their talent. And thus began the era of prioritising employees. Organisations have realised that without a strong internal foundation, delivering customer success is far beyond reach.
The work-life balance of employees, de-cluttering their schedules, and including their suggestions and feedbacks are an integral part of the new corporate culture, which is developing, and is likely to continue.
Significant shift in Virtual Business
Prior to the pandemic, many sectors like law, finance, investment banking and management consulting preferred a face to face approach in client meetings. The work from home culture has confirmed for various clients that meetings could be conducted with the same efficiency, virtually. Developing and sharing presentations, while being able to share your screen to present the same as though you are in person, has proved to be a boon for both sides – service provider and client. The ease with which business can be conducted virtually (providing products and services, and accepting payments, globally) is sure to stay post-pandemic, given how it has become the preference of most businesses over the past two years.
Importance of Mental Health
While most people around the world basked in the light of remote working, the side-effects of staying within the confines of the house, soon caught up. Add in the restrictions to outdoor movement, and we had the perfect recipe for gloominess and depression. Each individual experienced degrees of this at some point, ranging from sadness to anger to depression.
Without a doubt, productivity at work was affected when an employee went through such emotions. This inclined the employers to pay attention to the mental health, along with the physical health of their employees. Having counsellors to speak with, is one of the top priorities set by the Human Resource departments of many major companies around the world.
Open Work Culture
Among the biggest changes observed during the onset of the pandemic, was the manner in which companies revised their hierarchies. What earlier used to be a vertical hierarchy, slowly began transitioning into a flatter one. The doors of the senior management were open to all, irrespective of ranks. This boosted the confidence of the teams, all around. Employees felt that they were valued and had a chance to be heard.
Even if this was initially done with an intention to retain the best talent (by showing them that all doors were open to hear them out, receive their feedbacks and brainstorm with them), it soon paved way for the transformation into a “start-up style of hierarchy”.
Today, in the recovery phase of the pandemic, various organisations are adopting the flatter hierarchies, seeing the long-term benefits it presents for their growth. Design Thinking and Innovation have made their way, not only into the products and services, but also into the organisational setting and re-structuring.
With changes occurring in the regulations around the world, it is quite safe to say that the above trends of the pandemic work culture, are likely to stay for a foreseeable future.
Which trend impacted you the most, and how? Let us know in the comments below.