ENDEAVOR
Sonny Coloma
Work, worker and workplace converged into one as the global pandemic brought on protracted lockdowns. The emergent scenario: Work is done by the individual worker at his own pace, in his own space, and according to his own concept.
As business shifted to remote work --- thanks to technology-enabled connectivity --- workers gained advantage in terms of defining the terms of engagement. As workers are no longer within the physical confines of the workplace, erstwhile on-site restrictions on worker mobility and behavior could no longer be enforced.
This has triggered a shift in emphasis toward trust-based outcomes --- indeed a major paradigm shift from traditional management norms.
As vaccination efforts have been ramped up --- and health and safety protocols have been put in place --- businesses have learned better ways of coping with the pandemic.
Workers and employees are provided with company-paid shuttle services from home to work and back. Physical and social distancing norms have been put in place. Use of protective wear, if warranted, has also been prescribed.
To minimize possible aerosol transmission, preventive measures to control indoor environmental quality have been adopted. A good model is the approach taken by the expert panel in Japan for COVID-19 that focuses on the “3 Cs,” namely, “closed spaces with poor ventilation,” “crowded spaces with many people,” and “close contact.”
Physical proximity matters --- and this is why current studies point out that disruptions will be highest in four arenas: on-site customer interaction, as in retail sales outlets; work in leisure and travel, including hotels and restaurants; indoor production and warehousing, including factories; and computer-based office work.
From being viewed in a highly negative sense as a disruptor, technology is now embraced as an enabler, or even a transformative force. COVID-19 accelerated a shift to remote work and virtual meetings. E-commerce rules the day, from door-to-door food delivery to telemedicine. Digital automation, including the use of artificial intelligence, has become a favored level-up option, especially for organizations dealing with mass markets.
COVID-19 has taught us that some things we thought were best done in person can be done remotely. Anything that has to do with processing information, performing administrative duties, updating knowledge and learning, and routine communication with clients --- could shift to remote models.
Face to face or in-person work is still necessary, especially for work that requires intense collaboration among cross-functional teams, or networking with external stakeholders.
Trust and empathy are essential. In a sense, the pandemic has engendered a heightened sense of humaneness, or concern for others, as vulnerability to an unseen yet deadly virus seems to have forged the bonds of community and solidarity.
As COVID has engendered work-worker-workplace convergence, are we, indeed, ready to reimagine how we work? This vital question was raised in a panel discussion of management experts convened by McKinsey global research.
The Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 1800s moved workers from fields to factories. World War II brought more women into workplaces, paving the way for their eventual occupancy of C-suites. The Internet, personal computers and the smart phone heralded the era of digital transformation. The coronavirus pandemic gave rise to the work from home phenomenon.
While employers may be better poised for a return to significant in-person presence in the workplace, McKinsey & Company’s global research shows that employees are not as ready as they deal with high anxiety and significant psychological stress. Working from home has brought on “fatigue, difficulty in disconnecting from work, deterioration of their social networks, and weakening of their sense of belonging.”
Another key concern is the need to reskill and up skill workers to deal with the impact of digital transformation. The era of predictability and ‘no-surprises, please’ management is over. People need to become acclimatized to the realities of rapid, disruptive change.
Every disruption or change needs to be viewed as a teachable moment. Lifelong learning and a growth mindset are twin imperatives. To survive, grow, and thrive in the post-pandemic era, the critical skill-sets would revolve around “creativity, critical thinking, social intelligence, and then skills in software design and big data analytics.”
McKinsey Global suggests the following six-point framework for thriving in the post-pandemic era:
“How can you reconfigure the workforce and the workplace to increase agility, raise productivity, and empower workers while maintaining the culture? Are you positioned to leverage technologies and take advantage of the long-term trends accelerated by them? What are you doing to close the skill gaps? Are you clearly and transparently communicating your plans and supporting workers in making transitions? Are you supporting their lifelong learning? Are you leveraging ecosystem partners to increase the effectiveness of those efforts?”
Boldness, agility and dynamism are the engines of resilient organizations.