The COVID-19 pandemic took our common idea of working – where we were always in the office or on the jobsite – and flipped it. Most of the world has been working from home, where possible, since the start of the pandemic. That showed us we were able to be productive even though we were not in the office. But more importantly, we learned that the future of work is not so much about place – “onsite vs. remote”, and asking where people should work in the future might be the wrong question.
A better question is: What unleashes a person's potential, enabling them to be healthy and productive, regardless of where they work? I highlight two critical areas for a resilient and productive workforce below.
Lead with compassion
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a constant stream of change, from different teammates to system shifts, adding onto the stressors of employees – a recent Gartner survey has revealed that 54% of HR leaders believe that employees are suffering from change fatigue.
To minimise this, leaders must look to increase workforce health and resilience by taking more responsibility for workers’ holistic wellbeing and actively seeking to earn their trust. This will require a significant shift to invest and rebuild the culture to one of anti-burnout, rather than quick fixes such as a bonus day off or a wellness app. Organisations must look to provide employees with the resources to be productive anywhere.
This means paying attention to day-to-day changes, and empowering teams to shape their own change experiences. They have to redefine work policies and strengthen worker-employer relationships with strategies that ensure workers are net better off.
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