Accelerating our Future of Work

A dynamic business environment, increased speed of change, expediated digitalization, and amplified social action, compounded by the impacts of COVID-19, are accelerating our future of work transformation.

Over the past few weeks I’ve served as sponsor of an international sprint team with my colleague Gaby Oehlschlaeger, listening to employees to reveal our ambitions for the next normal. Many of our aspirations for the future were already being experimented with, but we recognize that more can be done to provide flexibility to our employees while at the same time addressing the needs of our customers in pursuit of our vision Health for all, Hunger for none. 

Last month, our Board of Management released a letter to employees sharing that one thing is clear: We will not return to our old ways of working after the Corona pandemic. Leaders will continue to support their teams and steer their organizations through the pandemic while also engaging employees in shaping our next normal.

Developing a culture of flexibility, instilling trust in day-to-day interactions, whether virtual or in-person, and creating intentional work spaces are part of how we will shape a better future of work. Here are some of the things we heard from employees:

Enable flexibility: at Bayer, we address some of the world’s most pressing global challenges and continue to develop new solutions, which requires working in many various locations and settings. Safety of our employees and customers remains of paramount importance. We enable flexibility to address the evolving needs of our customers while meeting individual working preferences, helping our employees drive maximum results and work-life integration. Our research, product supply, and business operations around the globe are empowered to identify how they offer flexibility to our employees in their essential role providing our products and services to customers.

Bring work to talent, not talent to work: we leverage our spaces for production, laboratory work, and for human & social interaction benefiting from in-person collaboration to drive innovation and deliver customer value. However, work from anywhere is just one approach, because our employees’ needs are as diverse as our customers’ and we can satisfy both. Our new ways of working are not just about a physical location. We will continue to be intentional about creating a sense of belonging and acting on our inclusion & diversity strategy to ensure equity even when our work spaces and places may look different for some.

Trust and empower employees: we trust employees and empower decision-making at the team level. How we work and travel in a more sustainable way, develop and deploy new digital business models, foster a shared sense of belonging, and adjust to changing customer and safety needs requires more flexibility and accountability at the team level, attributes that are part of our updated LIFE values.

Reward and recognize performance, not presence: our leaders enable employees to work in a more agile and digital world, serving as visible role models. Our investment in developing human centered leaders who are inclusive and meet the well-being needs of our employees and customers, regardless of work location or role, is of critical importance to achieving business results.

Accelerating our future of work will benefit our people, our environment and our customers. While there is no one answer for how we will achieve our next normal, we can commit to shaping our future together with our employees.

How is your company shaping their next normal?