How Workplace And Business Culture Are Forever Changed

Over the past few months, Covid-19 has completely disrupted the workplace and our personal lives. Some of the changes we've experienced will fade, while others will have longevity. When I venture outside, I see that nearly everyone has a facial mask on whether they purchased it online or created it themselves. The World Health Organization's Director-General Dr. David Nabarro said that wearing face masks is our new reality at least until we have a vaccine which may not be until 2021. The "face mask" is not just a symbol of fear and protection, but also one of reflection and change. While the cultural change from living through this tragic period in human history has been met with opposition and discomfort, it is inescapable and therefore forces change upon us. As Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said, "The way we work will never again be the same. We will now meet not just face-to-face, we'll meet sometimes face-to-face and sometimes digitally via Zoom". Unlike America, Japan's culture revolves around conducting business primarily through face-to-face meetings, not Zoom meetings. We may imagine Japan as being futuristic, yet it's also very traditional and has been highly disrupted by telework. That is to say that different cultures will have their own new set of norms that are being established now for the future.

The word "culture" is commonly used to describe the ideology, values, purpose, beliefs, mantras, and attitudes within an organization. When I was working for a big corporation, we were constantly using acronyms to describe products, positions, and places. We knew that in order to get ahead, we couldn't just work a standard forty-hour workweek. I couldn't email a Vice President unless I went through my manager. I wasn't able to remote work because at that time it wasn't supported. These are all examples of what a work culture feels like and the protocols, policies, and beliefs that drive it. Work culture is about consistency too. We are reminded of the culture throughout the day, every day so we become accustomed to it and have expectations of others that reflect it. But today, culture has been disrupted for every company, everywhere and here are the key areas that I believe will be changed in the aftermath of Covid-19.

The new business casual

I remember many years ago I saw a Forbes Magazine cover of Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson cutting his suit tie to represent the change from business formal to casual. I only wear ties now at weddings but I still believe you should wear them if you're interviewing for a job. Ties might look good but are very uncomfortable and unnecessary, especially in a work culture where we aren't in a physical space anymore. This pandemic may end business formal attire for good. A study from Indeed found that the share of American companies that allow casual dress has increased from 32 to 50 percent in the past five years. While "casual Fridays" are the norm in most industries, they have been extended beyond Fridays to cover the entire week. A separate study by Randstad found that a third of American's would quit their job or turn down a job offer if they had to wear formal attire.

Many experts have always preached that we should "dress the part" or "dress for the job/role you want". I'm guilty of saying one or both phrases over my career. But, those statements have found new meaning in our current work culture. We have spent our lives dressing formally to be taken seriously, but with everyone working from home, casual attire has become the new norm. The other driver of business casual is younger generations that reject the work cultures of the past while promoting individualism and freedom of choice. And today, that individualism is expressed through a rallying cry to "bring your full self to work".

The closed office space

One of the most important elements of culture no longer exists right now and that's 'space'. When we're in an office space, we can hear, feel, see and experience a work culture. Office space has changed significantly over the past few decades. For one, it's shrinking! The average square footage for each worker has declined from 260 to 214 since 1990. And, most (80 percent) are open offices, which have been proven to decrease face-to-face interactions by 70 percent and productivity by 66 percent. The pandemic will change workplace design from an open to a closed environment. Open offices aren't just proven to be less effective BUT they make it easier to spread germs and viruses.

Our current pandemic has accelerated the remote workplace while shrinking the commercial real estate industry simultaneously. New York City office leasing, for instance, is down 50 percent. Of course, many will return to the physical office by either preference or policy in the aftermath of the pandemic, but the need for large spaces will be diminished. The average company saves $11,000 for each half-time remote worker each year. Companies will be more nimble coming out of this recession, and transition to either an entirely remote workplace or a mixed work environment, with only certain workers having to go to the office. And the office some of you will come back to will be cleaner, with partitions, hand sanitizer, limits on the number of people in certain areas like elevators and with technology that prevents people from touching objects.

The emphasis on projects and people

The projects you do and the people you work with are going to be much more important than the brand you work for, the industry you work in and the location of your office. When you work from home, you only care about what you're doing and whom you're doing it with. This is especially true when you take "space" out of corporate culture. In a recent Fortune article, former CEO of Medtronic Bill George said: "The role of leaders will shift to further attention on empowering their employees, energizing them around a common mission, and measuring the outcomes of their work." I completely agree because, at the end of the day, the results you achieve from the work you do is the only tangible way to prove your value to any organization.

Back in 2008, I interviewed Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson who co-created ROWE or "Results-Only Work Environment", which was adopted by companies like Best Buy. They told me, "In an information and service economy, it simply doesn’t make sense to use time or physical presence as measurements for a job well done.” This logic holds up even strong in today's remote work world, where location really doesn't matter.

And work relationships matter even more from a distance because they serve as our emotional bridge to our employers. We achieve progress through other people, and when we don't get along with our teammates, our overall work experience declines. People and projects will comprise work and nothing else.

The end of the handshake

The handshake has been around since the fifth century B.C. in Greece, where it was a symbol of peace because you dropped your weapon before you reached out and shook hands. The handshake has since become a greeting and a sign of a mutual agreement in a negotiation. But that has changed in the past decade as people are fearful of transmitting germs. A 2010 study found that over half of people would rather touch a public toilet seat than shake the hand of someone who sneezed or coughed into it and 40 percent resisted shaking hands overall.

Today, that fear and avoidance have been taking to the next level because entire governments are telling citizens not to shake hands as a way to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Anthony Fauci, the NIAID Director said in a statement, "I don't think we should ever shake hands ever again." This fear of handshakes will continue because they can spread the flu and other future viruses. The impact of Covid-19 has shifted our behavior and made us take hygiene much more seriously, paying attention to hands and surfaces like never before. That's not to say we won't shake hands long term, but in the interim, we will resist. Head nods, fist, and shoulder bumps will displace handshakes in the pandemic aftermath.

The rise of work-life integration

In a recent post, I said that now, more than ever before, we are witnessing first hand that there is no "work-life balance" because our life is our workplace and our workplace is our life. Being in self-isolation during this pandemic further proves that our work and life are interconnected. You take your life into your work and your work into your life whether you want to our not. Emotions, feelings, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, values and behaviors come with you wherever you are. We are also "always on call" because business occurs 24/7 not when and where we want it to be. Work can be done anywhere at any time. That's why instead of trying to balance our work and life, we should try to manage, integrate and harmonize both together in a way that works best for us, our family and our employers.

Arianna Huffington agreed with me on this shift, saying "Work and life, well-being and productivity, are not on opposite sides needing to be balanced.” I've also interviewed prominent leaders about work-life integration like former CEO of Campbell Soup Company Denise Morrison, who said, "It’s not always possible to achieve a perfect work-life balance—I’ve always approached it as work-life integration. You can do it all, just not all at once." Other prominent leaders like Jeff Bezos also agree with this way of managing work and life.

Today, it's even more clear that we should all have control over when, where and how we work and that life should be part of our schedule, not something saved for the end of the workday. A survey found that 92 percent of business executives say that the global trend of work-life integration is driven by technology (mobile, video conferencing, etc.), which has enabled people to work regardless of location.

The more efficient meeting

I think we can all agree that many meetings are a complete waste of time for everyone involved. Meetings are used as "office therapy", a way to break up the day and end up making us less productive and exhausted. When you take meetings virtually like we have had to because of Covid-19, you want them to be shorter than the ones in-person. Effective meetings bring people together for a specific purpose and a tangible result. Recognizing how people want efficient meetings now, they will want the same level of efficiency when things return to 'normal'. The desire for in-person meetings and events will remain because connecting in person serves our basic human needs. A study found that 78 percent plan to attend as many or more events when it's safe to do so. Like many other areas of our lives, right now we've had so much time to reflect on how we run meetings in a better, more actionable and less annoying way.

The acceptance of side hustles

Back when I had a corporate job, I had various 'side hustles' like freelance writing, starting my own magazine and consulting. A side hustle is a supplement to a full-time job. With 16 American's have lost their jobs, and more on the horizon, side hustles will become even more mainstream and accepted. Our current economy should be a reminder that we need multiple income streams in order to protect our livelihoods in case we lose one (like a full-time job) in the future. Right now about 45 percent of all American adults have a side hustle and 30 percent say they have them to help cover the cost of their regular living expenses. In the past, side hustles were not only less common but there was a stigma around them. Moving forward, we'll see most people have them out of both necessity and choice.

Moving forward

Work and business culture will be forever changed as a result of the pandemic, for better or worse depending on your preferences, habits and lifestyle. Regardless of who you are, and how you work, we will all adapt to our changing environment, take the necessary precautions and find a new path forward that works for us and our employer. Companies that start making these shifts right now will have a workforce that can better adjust to our new reality.

__________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to the Promote Yourself Newsletter for more workplace trends, news, research, career advice, interviews and book recommendations.

Listen to the 5 Questions Podcast for interviews with world-class humans like Richard Branson, Condoleezza Rice, Flea, Alyssa Milano & Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Read my bestselling book Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation, now in Paperback.