As countries around the world begin to ease their lockdown restrictions, how will life come back to normal? There will be changes but just how different will it be?
One thing that many of us have learned since March is how to work remotely. At the end of 2019, an average of 5% of the workforce in the UK mainly worked from home, with 30% having experience in working from home at some point. Now almost all of us are having to do this until further notice.
Our office work is being done in our dining rooms, our living rooms or studies. Communicating with our co-workers and bosses is now being undertaken via video conferences. And online meetings are the norm rather than the exception.
This lockdown has seen the birth of a trust revolution. Most employers would never have let 70-80% of their workforce work remotely from the start of 2020. The lockdown has helped businesses to view a different way to work. Their businesses can continue to move forward even while most of their workers are at home. One can take from this that there has been a shift in trust between employers and employees.
Being able to manage workload and teams remotely is now becoming more and more consistent, with even virtual interviewing becoming popular prior to employment.
Trust and integrity are what will keep a company going. Trust that staff will get work done to the best of their abilities. But also, the trust that managers and employers are allowing workers to be flexible in their hours. Workers are after all, having to balance work with families and other responsibilities they would have at home.
Employees can continue to feel motivated and empowered to complete their roles just as much as they would in an office. An important aspect of managing workers is simply talking. Asking about their well being and their families goes a long way in keeping those workers loyal to a business.
It is not just trust within organisations that is becoming apparent, it is also the way businesses and people in those businesses communicate with the people around them. A growing sense of empathy with our neighbors and community will lead to a more positive outcome after lockdown. A perfect example of such is reflected every Thursday evening as the UK show their appreciation for the NHS and care workers.
Soft skills are often overlooked for technical skills among individuals, but now soft skills are just as important as any technical skills has ever been.
For more information on the trust revolution, check out our podcast from in house recruitment. Click here to listen.
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