Where do I work? It depends.

The Future of Work in the Post-Pandemic Flexible Workplace

Future of work is a concept we’ve been hearing about for nearly a decade, if not more. I remember talking about it with customers and industry peers and discussing how the latest technologies could help transform the way we work and lead to an “augmented humanity,” where artificial intelligence and machine learning would help free up valuable time for other tasks.

Little did we know COVID-19 would come around and accelerate what we anticipated. Now as the world gradually returns to, or I should say, moves on to the post-pandemic reality, we can experience the changes it has brought to our lives – including how it impacts the future of work.

Just like the pandemic accelerated other aspects of business transformation, it allowed companies to understand how the location where we work from does not define our ability to deliver business outcomes. Advancements in connectivity, portability, communications, and collaborations tools have made it easier to work and deliver results remotely. Undoubtedly, technology continues to be the biggest enabler to improve our lives.

When I think about the last 12+ months, there are many words that come to mind describing what we experienced. However, mostly I think of these two: flexibility and adaptability. They are qualities that I’d say most of us embraced quite quickly to carry on with our lives. They are also qualities that kept businesses running and even growing, to successfully meet their customers’ needs. Business leaders soon realized that having a flexible work environment did not stand in the way of collaboration and achieving positive outcomes.

Earlier in June, SAP recognized this and announced a “Pledge to Flex” that gives employees the freedom to be location agnostic beyond the pandemic, and adapt their working routine to their individual preference, while keeping aligned to business requirements. This expands on what the company had already facilitated years before in specific divisions –now extended to all of its 100,000 employees.

And based on surveys conducted, the majority of employees prefer a hybrid approach. This is a work model that truly fits the individuals, as well as the business’ needs. On one hand, our colleagues highly value direct exchange with co-workers and teams in the office, and the team spirit and sense of belonging it creates. While on the other hand, they also value flexibility and independence, in addition to the time saved by not having to commute every day. We’ve learned that enterprises must create environments that are not only intelligent but also caring and inclusive.

In many ways, the pandemic has provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to question what we’ve been doing so far and to reinvent the ways we work and live. It has renovated us into a better version of ourselves. And even though it is not over yet, I am confident that the lessons we’ve learned will continue to help us shape a better future!

For SAP, the future of work will be about empowering all our employees along business needs by being conscious of who needs what when, with a flexible location, time and workspace.

What does the future of work look like for you?