LIFE AFTER COVID-19: NOSTALGIA WILL BE OUR ENEMY

It is time for a renewal of our economy and the organization of labor 

Dramatic phases in history were often a starting point for renewal of our societies. We are now in the middle of worldwide covid-19 pandemic. The last months have been a direct punch in the face. All of us have seen the tragedy taking place in Europe and beyond. People that have suffered (and still do) and people that died. These heart breaking images are burned in our minds and won’t be forgotten. All of us have seen it and have felt the pain in our hearts of all those wonderful people, no longer with us.

A lot of us had to stay in our houses. We combined our work at home, with taking care of our families and the people in our environment. The fear for covid-19 was maybe paralyzing us, but slowly we also became of aware of something new, something of value as well. The reality of the new world, maybe. The firs rays of sunshine through the clouded sky! The promise of something better to come!

What appeared in daily life was that a lot of us could work from home in a very good way. If you look to several surveys published, the general trend indicated by employers is that there is not perse a decline in productivity or efficiency. It is true that a lot of jobs need to be done on the premises of your company (you can’t make a new truck @ your home. This needs to be done in the factory together with your fellow workers).

A lot of other position can be conducted well from the home office. Recent IDC survey results indicate as well that there will be a huge investment in ‘smart working’ from home and a substantial reduction of (business) travel. It is also indicated that a fast growing percentage of labor populations will use automation technology to conduct their processional activities. Also some European countries are working on legislation to provide employees with a legal right to work from the home office.

There is never a single and easy truth in life that works for all and everything. We can work efficient from the home office, but we are also human beings. We find in a way our destiny, our reason of existence in contact with other persons. In my company (Advantech Europe BV) we conducted a survey in our organization and the most eye catching outcome was that employees miss their fellow colleagues. Whatever our new world will look like, it will always be a combination of working from home and working from the office. It remains crucial to be frequently in direct contact with your co workers:to find creative solutions together for your challenges, but most of all to feel a human being together with your co workers at the office. From home, form the office: team work will always be the crucial chain in the success of a company.

The earlier mentioned IDC survey indicates as well that the skill ‘team work’ in itself is one of the most essential criteria to assess top performing teams. Characteristics of future successful team work is: team work attitude as skill and productivity! Digital tools will be more and more used to monitor, to self-assess the team productivity. Not as a ‘big brother is watching you’ principle, but as a tool to improve yourself and your team.

Also our labor organizations from the inside need to change: how do we work together? how do we define leadership and how do we stay connected. Companies don’t need leaders with all the answers, who over structure the internal organizations to maintain 'control' in an old-fashioned way. We need leaders that can ask the right questions, who can inspire, who can make people think thru on a deeper level. The reality has become too complex, too international on too many places: Leadership is needed on several places. Inspiration, overview and asking the right questions is the kind of wood of which our leaders should be made of.

There won't be future anymore were we all sit in one room and the leader makes the decisions! We need more clever ways of working now. Next to this the future of work will be a future of ‘co-creation’. Companies will co-create with other companies to define the best ways to overcome customer challenges. I feel privileged to be part of the Advantech Europe, were we embrace the co-creation concept.

Not only companies need to work in that way, the same is true for employees. Traditional hierarchical structures will mostly not work anymore. The best co-creation employees are in the middle of their organization and have a strong network outside their organization. They are knowledgeable and solution driven and not department driven. Cross-functional collaboration will bring agility and innovation (IDS survey results).

The world after covid-19 will also be a new world for the HR profession. A solid administrative organization remains a fundament under all circumstances (Dave Ulrich), but most important next to this will be to what extend HR is able to connect the people of the organization. In the teams of the future, combinations of working from home and from the office is likely. To find an answer on the question how to remain one company, how to keep the connection from the individual employee to the company in place will be one of the essential questions. It is my experience so far that reaching out to employees, organizing webinars, sharing learning is an excellent way to stay in touch (directly) with the people in the several teams. In a way the covid-19 pandemic has brought me closer to the employees of Advantech Europe than before. For me that is an important insight.

A lot of funds have been allocated by (European) central banks, European Union and individual countries in Europe for the recovery of our economies after covid-19. It is my recommendation to use that money to innovate and renew Europe.

European employees should always be known for frequently tapping into new knowledge to renew themselves. Companies and governments that cut on education investments are always leaders of the past. Life-long learning will be an important element in the DNA of successful companies of the future. Knowledge is changing and increasing fast. This new era needs new skills (co-creation collaboration skills) and we need to adapt ourselves to the new, more intense phase, of the Internet of Things solutions.

Next to this we need to invest the available funds in the renewal of our economic structures and intelligence in Europe. A lot of concepts that my company (Advantech Europe BV) has will be the backbone of the new society. Concepts, products and technology like smart city, smart lighting, smart hospitals, smart manufacturing can bring this innovation, more efficient way of working and will bring a much better environmental footprint. I am a proud member of Advantech, out of conviction that our technology is technology for the better, to strengthen Europe.

Nostalgia to the world before covid-19 will be our enemy. It is normal human beings want to go back to the world of yesterday, don't embrace change automticly. But the reality is, it is no longer there! Nostalgia is a picture of the past and will lead us to the past. Will lead us to stagnation, old-fashioned companies and obsolete ways of working.

It is time to change our perspective on the future of work and the organization of our economy. We have the funds, the drive and the momentum to innovate our economies, our labor organizations and the future of work. It will bring us an important competitive advantage. We can use the momentum, choose for innovation or we choose to dwell in nostalgia. What is your choise?

 Roel van der Poort

(this article is written on personal title)