As businesses start to reopen, the question is asked: “What will the workplace look like when employees return?” The answer to that question has yet to be revealed. That said, I think with gathering restrictions in place for the immediate future, it is safe to assume that the pre-pandemic workplace will not soon return…if ever.
The initial chaos created by the immediate shutting of businesses has given way to re-evaluating how the work gets done. The reactions to home-based working are quite diverse. On one end of the spectrum, there are the skeptics. A CFO friend of mine told me that she never supported working at home. She was convinced that employees would never work. What she has seen since the home quarantine was imposed has completely changed her mind. In her words, “I am surprised S*** is getting done!” She too has seen how working at home has benefitted her and she now expects to work at home more in the future.
On the other end of the spectrum are those individuals who just cannot work at home. A friend of mine shared that her productivity has drastically dropped. She finds that she is only productive for about a half day though she has done all she can to remove every possible distraction and has created a functional home work space.
So how will the workplace of the future look? The variety of employee experiences provides fertile ground for innovation! Engaging employees in conversations, and forums, in-person or virtual, can provide insights into how to move forward.
How will you cultivate your employee experiences to create the ‘workplace of the future’ now?