Commentary on the Transformation of Work in 2020

The COVID19 pandemic has given more than a slight push to the reimagination of a diversified workforce and workplace. As remote work has become the new norm for public health and safety, it is still unclear whether this is a short-term solution or if this represents a fundamental backdrop for a shift in office workplaces and skilled resources.

The information from doctors and epidemiologists changes day-to-day regarding if and when a vaccine with accompanying therapies will be approved, proven effective and widely available for an entire world population of need. Companies who employ “handlers” – people who must be in contact with people, product and logistics – are appropriately displaying caution for their workers’ health and safety, despite inconsistencies in federal and state guidelines. Similarly, traditional office-style workers are delaying returns to office settings where possible. This new remote-matrix model presumably will be in place for at least another year. Given that society cannot wait at a standstill in the meantime, there are a few key stakeholder areas which this situation will impact.

I. Parents

Employees with children have had a difficult experience in this pandemic. With schools closed in the spring, and with question marks around the plan for this fall, parents have had to juggle their professional and parental lives, often performing both simultaneously. While the juggle is not new for working families, the idea of quarantining together presents a disruption to the types and locations of support available to working families. Extended families cannot help nuclear families for fear of virus spread. Daycare centers or at-home providers cannot offer support for the same reason.

Companies will need to communicate guidelines and policies for how parents can approach this situation with empathy and compassion. Flexible work-hour arrangements, recorded video meetings and perhaps accepting the occasional child on the lap during a live meeting may need to be the new “family-friendly” work environment to pitch for now. We are going to need to approach the family dynamic alongside the human dynamic when it comes to setting and achieving work level goals and accomplishments.

II. Office Space

For many companies, office leases are a sizable portion of their expenses. Over the past 20 years or so, impressive physical office layouts have been a key selling point for companies. The idea of using open-concept offices with modular furniture, big screens, ping pong tables, gyms and in-office baristas had become the standard for any company looking to attract the next generation of talented employees. Will the pandemic and the shift to remote work lead to an end of using office amenities as a talent recruitment pitch? Or are quarantined remote workers yearning for a return to their socially engaging office lives?

Companies can approach this situation by using survey tools to assess the attitudes of their workforce towards returning to the office. If they find that the majority of employees appreciate the in-office experience, they could look to retain their space within modest adaptions and discussions with property owners. Conversely, we may see companies downsize their leases, especially for high-traffic downtown headquarters, and instead move to a decentralized model with increased utilization of fully remote workers who have access to shared WeWork-style office space when necessary.

III. Work Hours / Tools

Even before the pandemic, the shift toward flexible hours was palpable. If employees could (and in some cases, were expected to) answer emails at any time of day or night, the value of the traditional 9 to 5 model had begun to wane. It is possible that this pandemic could fundamentally alter our approach to real-time collaboration. With most meetings occurring on video platforms like Zoom, meetings can be recorded to view at any time, especially if you are not a commentator in the meeting. Other tools like Slack or Teams encourage ongoing team conversations to occur in applications where everyone can share documents, post comments and collaborate. It will be interesting to see what other tools emerge in this remote environment to enable time-agnostic collaboration and possibly upend the traditional 9 to 5 model.

Companies would be well-served to stay up to date on the latest trends in collaboration tools and invest in the tools that make the most sense for their employees. To maximize these investments, they can promote access to training materials for enabling their workforce to get the most out of these increasingly vital collaboration platforms.

IV. Where Do We Go from Here?

No one anticipated the world to turn on its head so quickly, but out of this immense disruption, perhaps we can use this as an opportunity to reimagine the work environment. This pandemic could encourage a new outlook on work-life balance, in a society where 76% of employees experience burnout in their roles. It could also serve as a springboard for the development of innovative tools and approaches for collaboration. Either way, there is no one-size-fits all approach to this rapidly changing situation, so businesses may be well-served to focus on flexibility, transparency and the safety of their employees and customers, while also using this time to reconsider how their business model can adapt for the future.