Surface Ripples

What The Numbers Tell Us?

Now that vaccines are finally becoming available, we are (I hope) exiting the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the whole world.  Governments, businesses and people have had to adapt to a world where a new “social distancing” was the norm as we struggled to understand the nature of the virus, how it spread and to develop preventative vaccines.  Our lives changed forever, and I suspect that many of these changes will continue even after “herd immunity” is achieved.

One of these aspects of life will be work.

People became accustomed to video conferencing, interviewing and meetings to keep things going.  We realised that, whilst face-to-face meetings were nice, there was no need to be physically present as much as we were wont before the coronavirus (COVID) struck.  I personally believe that meetings where people are present in the same room will resume, as will business travel, but not at pre-COVID levels. 

With this in mind, will there be as much need for office space, if employees can work from home (WFH)?  In some cases, yes.  Schools, hospitals, certain government departments, banks, hotels, construction sites (to name a few) will require their people “on site”.  However, there may be pressure to allow WFH as “part of the package”, given that we can be contacted 24/7 through modern communications.  

This may mean businesses needing less office space, more “hot desking” and less time spent commuting.  If this means less pollution from cars and buses required to carry commuters and less congested highways and railways, that must be a good thing? 

The flip side is that I suspect that work will intrude more into our personal space.  A client was telling me about a conference held by one if his principals for their global network which took place from 7:30pm – 11:30pm his time.  The boundaries between work and home life will be even more disrupted for some time, resulting perhaps in increased stress levels due to being unable to completely “disconnect” from work at home.

Another issue that arises is compensation.  Now that (with some exceptions), people can “work anywhere from anywhere”, will this affect pay and benefits?  Remember also the “anytime” aspect – it may suit someone in country A to work remotely for a company whose customers are in country B because it suits their particular circumstances.  What, however, will happen to salaries?  Will employers in “low-cost” countries not want to pay higher for people living in higher cost ones?   It may not even be a case of different countries – it could be the same country but different regions.  How many “rural poor”, for example, might benefit from this?

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience 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: Career, Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Social, Strategy, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 11:38