6 things to consider when rethinking how we work after COVID

In 2020, the world changed. There’s been a lot of talk since about ‘getting back to normal,’ but when it comes to the world of work, how do we build a new normal from the lessons learned over the past year? Perhaps the first step we need to take is rethinking how we work after COVID.

1. Survive or thrive?

The pandemic has been incredibly challenging for all parts of our lives, including the world of work. 2020 saw businesses strip down to their bare essentials or sometimes focus on what really matters. Businesses had to quickly rethink how they could continue and survive. The move towards remote working became less of a choice and more of a necessity. With the vaccine rollout now begun, people are beginning to hope life can return to normal, but is remote working one element that is here to stay? It helped businesses to survive the past year, but going forward can it help them to thrive?

As difficult as the pandemic has been, it does present a unique business opportunity. Companies can explore what works and what doesn’t and then rebuild from those lessons learned. Consequently, many are hailing flexible working as what will actually stay after COVID, a middle ground between the office and remote working.

2. The view of the workplace

Let’s start with the office itself. The word conjures up many things for people – the grind, 9 to 5, collaboration, meetings, coffee break chats, maybe even an early 2000’s classic sitcom, but for the most part people would agree it is a building you go to so you can do your job. Due to the pandemic that element has been taken away and the office is now something different. Your living room sofa, a chair pulled up to the dining room table or maybe your now rarely frequented guest bedroom. Last year pushed so many individuals to redefine what the office meant. Some can’t wait to open the door to their office block again but not everyone is so eager to go back.

From a financial point of view, if more people are working from home, offices could choose to downsize or relocate out of expensive city centres. This means savings that can be directly invested back into the business. It also widens the pool of talent they can choose from. Someone at the opposite end of the country who is a perfect fit but unable to relocate suddenly becomes a viable option. Allowing them to stay where they are can also foster loyalty to their employers motivating them to work at their best.

3. What is flexible working?

Figures show that even before the pandemic there was an upwards trend towards more flexible working, with around 4.2m people working flexi-time hours.

Flexible working can look different for each business, but it is usually a way of working that is focused on employee needs. Someone might start or finish early, work according to projects, or split their time between the office and working at home. Productivity isn’t negatively affected, it actually sometimes gets better, and their work fits with their personal life instead of being at constant loggerheads. This tends to create a higher level of job satisfaction, increased motivation, performance and even loyalty to their place of work.

Flexible working has been implemented in other countries to great effect. Most famously, in Sweden the government has trialled a six-hour workday with promising results and in Singapore, the workday ends at 3.30pm. There are even places like Estonia who are trying to attract freelancers and digital nomads on mass with E-residency cards , taking a piece of the flexible working pie before it hits big time.

4. Metal Health and Stress

Flexible working can help mental health issues connected with work. In recent years, presenteeism has been increasing. Presenteeism involves people pushing themselves to go into work when they shouldn’t, for example when they are unwell or when they are run down. Continuously pushing like this has been linked to higher stress levels which can then lead to depression, anxiety and burnout. This can then lead to longer periods off work to recover. Flexible working could actually be the answer because it helps to redress the work-life balance. Employees are encouraged to make their job work around their lives. People can build their own structure that benefits their goals. And this is very different to remote only working which can also lead to higher percentage of Presenteeism. The reason why flexible working is here to say is because it strikes a perfect balance between the two.

Psychology Today wrote that ‘an individual's productivity hinges on mental energy and a sense of internal and external motivation. It often emerges naturally from work that they find inherently meaningful or valuable.’

Flexible working, in part, is an employer trusting their employee. Understanding that the work will be prioritised and get done in the structure that they create. That trust, in turn, makes employees feel valued. People feel motivated to keep that healthy relationship and work hard. Choosing when they work means not pushing themselves when they are ill or exhausted leaving more mental energy for productivity.

5. Working from home isn't for everyone

Motivation is a concern when it comes to flexible working. Working from home is not for everyone. Some flourish while others struggle. Research has shown that for the most part productivity rises when people work flexibly. Not only do workers feel they are more productive, but in one study 90% of managers agreed that the quality and quantity of work from their employees either stayed the same or improved.

Not every manager agreed though and for some people the isolation of working independently has a detrimental effect both on productivity and their mental health. There are even concerns that burnout could be triggered even easier when your home is both your workplace and where you relax.

The middle ground, is perhaps not surprisingly, flexibility. An office isn’t just a building it’s teeming with individuals. And knowing how each one works best is the key to overall business productivity. Accepting that not everyone is in the position to work best at home, or that one person gets inspired by a physical meeting while another needs time alone to do some deep thinking, is all part and parcel of what makes us the colourful human beings that we are and is where flexible working reigns supreme.

6. Innovation

Another important part of driving businesses forward is collaboration. The spirit of coming together to innovate and create. A potential issue for flexible working is not having everyone physically together in one place for that to happen. Would there be something lost? That spontaneous spark, if meetings are happening over the phone, through a screen or a mixture of the two? Can teams still bond if they aren’t face to face?

Opinions are mixed on this one. Research from MIT has shown that innovation comes from micro-interactions that occur in the workplace so if you aren’t able to be face to face with someone it is less likely that collaborations will take place.

However, David Shrier, programme director at Oxford Cyber Futures, says that gap can be bridged with the right technology. It is about businesses being open and willing to implement it and encouraging employees to take advantage of it. Like most things as you practice, things begin to flow more naturally. And not forgetting that with flexible working only truly works with clever organisation and thought going into how the workspace of tomorrow could work. Employees could have access to centralised tools so they understand what everyone is working on and then ascertain when they need to meet up face to face and when they can work in silo.

The future

So, what does the future of the workplace look like? Flexible working was already growing before 2020 hit and now it seems to be growing exponentially. It seems that there’s going to be a strong move towards more hot-desking. Offices will likely be designed to promote flexible ways of working including the implementation of more private conference rooms and break out areas with the smart technology to support it. And all of those rooms could be used as employees see fit. Meetings could be a mix of in-person and screens around the table, while people use relaxation areas as break outs or places to concentrate on a project before heading home and finishing it.

Whatever happens, there may be some trial and error ahead, but there certainly won’t be a return to pre-pandemic business as usual. In many ways, the world has changed as we know it, and our workspaces of tomorrow aren’t exempt from that change. What we do with what we have learnt in 2020 and start of 2021 is important. If we returned only to ‘normal’ as we knew it, it would be a real disservice to what we have achieved when pushed to adapt. Innovation means pushing forward to create something new, stronger and more sustainable than what came before it. With every cloud comes a silver lining, so when it comes to flexible working, let’s not let that the opportunity to improve how we work pass us by.