Employee 2.0. Who is he/she?

"The world will never be the same again!" How often have you heard this phrase lately? .. Having gone through all the stages of denial, we gradually get used to it, take it inevitably for granted. But how exactly the world will change is currently very difficult to imagine.

We all find ourselves in conditions of uncertainty, uncertainty, instability, which, of course, is reflected in our emotional state, dramatically changes the way of life, thoughts, habits, consumer behavior and so on. But life is not postponed until the end of quarantine, but happens here and now. And how we adapt to the new reality largely shapes our future.

Employers and employees of organizations were among the first to adapt to quarantine measures.

Reductions in budgets, costs, mass layoffs, vacations at their own expense, rapid forced transition to remote work etc.. All this, of course, affected the psycho-emotional state of employees, which, in turn, affected the efficiency, staff involvement, changes in performance evaluation criteria, features of corporate culture, team dynamics. Today, there are companies that have completely switched to remote work; those who work partly remotely and partly in the office; and those that went offline.

According to a study by the international company 4Service Group, conducted in April 2020, in connection with the epidemic, company executives have introduced the following main measures: organized a regime of remote work and provided protection.

The labor market is changing, according to forecasts - the bargaining power will return to employers, because the market has been replenished with redundant employees and those who "at their own expense" can not support themselves and their families.

COVID-19 is an opportunity to reset the relationship between companies and employees. The attitude towards people as a "labor force" - a factor of production and costs that must be minimized to get the maximum return on capital, is unstable. Employees are the largest asset of any company. Employees and their families must be healthy and protected in order to remain motivated, involved and productive.

Restrictions are gradually being lifted. Some businesses have already returned to normal operation. But epidemiologists warn of a second wave of the epidemic in the fall. There is no tested and ready-to-enter vaccine yet, so we can expect another quarantine.

Employers must act immediately. The well-being of staff means the protection of financial security, physical and psychological health, dignity. They can create a safe and healthy work environment, avoid a culture of multitasking, take care of the mental health of staff, and more.

After all, the employee of the future after COVID-19 will judge the company and business leaders in terms of actions during and after the crisis, deciding who they would like to work with (in particular, to interact as customers, suppliers or partners).

At present, thanks to and contrary to the prevailing conditions, employees are developing skills, without which it is difficult to imagine the productive work of the company in future.

What skills does employee 2.0 develop?

• Adaptability and flexibility are skills without which each of us is very difficult in a world that is changing so suddenly. The transition to remote work has contributed to the development of these skills.
• Remote work also shifts the focus to work results. You have fulfilled the tasks set before you - well done. How much time you spend on it depends on you. This is how we develop self-organization skills.
• In the office, a small work issue can be solved in 5-10 minutes by simply going to the next table. With the remote format, you need to gather all the right people in Zoom. Someone checks the messenger every 5 minutes, someone every 10 minutes, and someone doesn't get in touch right now. The decision of an insignificant problem can stretch for an hour, accordingly, the working day becomes longer. To avoid this, we develop effective communication skills.
• And also all of us urgently had to master messengers, Zoom, Teams and other services for remote communication with colleagues. Which, of course, contributes to the development of digital literacy skills.

So far, global changes in the labor market and the mass transfer of employees to remote work have not occurred. Quarantine has shown that neither psychologically nor technologically most businesses are ready for full-fledged work in this mode.

There is a possibility of a second wave of pandemic, new quarantine, increasing requirements for the organization of office space. Businesses need to prepare for this now and work out crisis strategies. HR - to review the criteria for evaluation and selection of personnel, to adapt corporate culture, internal communication systems, to organize psychological support services, because remote work, according to my observations and studies of European colleagues, burnout is much more common.