Surface Ripples

A New Normal?

 I recently came across a fascinating article on bbc.com which discussed how attitudes to work may well have undergone a seismic shift in the face of social distancing regulations that many have brought in.

The conclusion was that our relationship with work has changed permanently.  People are now thinking differently about their jobs “… as new data shows that remote working will probably become the norm – researchers from McKinsey predict that 20% of the global workforce could work from home three-to-five days a week. It’s unlikely that we’re going back to the ‘old’ way of doing things any time soon.”

Others are improving their skill set, acquiring new skills or even starting a new business.  It’s an exciting time for all.  Some are reporting less stress due to not having to commute every day (I can endorse this!).  For some, just that daily commute made a job “unfulfilling”.

Thanks to the advances we’ve seen in technology, many jobs now lend themselves more to remote working than, say, 25 years ago.  Businesses will find they don’t need as much office space (some have predicted they can operate with just 35% of their existing square footage), meaning that landlords will see a decline in rentals as businesses “downsize” offices or move out of larger urban centres to more remote locations, perhaps binging new jobs to areas that need them.

However, with the new Work From Home (WFH) ethos, other challenges are also presenting themselves, first amongst which is balancing home life and work life, particularly with young children.  As some have already found, when working from home, neither clients nor younger children are great respecters of “boundaries”.  

For all workers, whether “experienced” or just beginning on the career ladder, connecting with new/younger colleagues with prove more challenging (“Zoom” meetings don’t quite provide the same interaction as “face-to-face” interaction on a meeting room.  

Building networks and careers will also need a new approach.  It’s not as easy to “relate” to someone we see only on a computer screen as it is when working alongside them on a daily basis.

Whilst “technology” offers more possibilities to those who have access to it, some aren’t as fortunate as others.  We may see a deepening of inequalities between the technological “haves” and “have-nots”.  

Equally, some industries (e.g., manufacturing, assembly, packaging, hospitality) will still require people to work alongside each other.  Often, it is these jobs that provide an introduction to many youngsters to the “working world”.  

In short, both challenges AND rewards seem to be “major” and can’t be ignored.  The key questions are now:

1. How will employers respond?
2. Will they allow remote working more often?
3. Can they develop the policies and processes to facilitate WFH?

Employers will need to recognise that the need to attract and retain good staff will depend partly on their willingness and ability to see that workers may now expect WFH 3-5 days/week as a “right”

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website  provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 09:24