Before the coronavirus pandemic, many HR professionals and change agents advocated for stronger and more mainstream work-from-home policies for a variety of reasons. Traditional big business and corporate thinking rejected WFH initiatives - for whatever reason, cost of infrastructure, productivity concerns, etc - but have now been forced into an almost total remote workforce. (By total I mean your typical desk-job, corporate 9-5er, excluding shipping departments and other employees performing essential in-person functions.)
At the time of this writing, we are a little over a month into practicing social distancing and doing our best to follow the Stay At Home requirements or recommendations. Time will tell how many corporate offices and agencies will be able to pivot and embrace this new normal in order to survive and thrive in what will become our new economy.
At the start of this, many people probably thought we’d be working from home for a month or two. The directive may have been to maintain status quo, put new projects on hold, perform essential duties or lighten the load until the workforce could return to the office. But the gravity of the COVID-19 illness and the reality of of our new normal means companies have some important decisions to make. New initiatives, product launches, communications and advertising will have to resume if the goal is to remain in business for the long haul.
As businesses come to the realization they can’t wait out the pandemic, new projects and programs will start coming. And workers will prove that indeed they can be done remotely - and possibly much more efficiently - when not bogged down by traditional corporate bureaucracy. And that may be the reason why remote working will become a permeant aspect of our society.
It’s hard to imagine now - especially for those of us with young children who are also tasked with parenting, teaching, and entertaining our kids during working hours. But perhaps us parents are coming to realize the moments that are spent with family when we otherwise would’ve been stuck in traffic or in a meeting-that-could’ve-been-an-email are priceless. And maybe we’ve been missing out on nurturing these deep bonds with our kids or our partners because of a cross-country business trip that could’ve - should’ve - been a zoom meeting.
I don’t know what our workforce culture will look like in 5 years. But now that many of you are proving remote work can be done - and done well - going back into the office setting will be a tough sell and a regression into the traditional ways of doing business. My gut tells me that businesses who are waiting for the social distancing orders to be lifted so they can get back in the office instead of finding innovative ways to motivate and inspire a remote workforce will be the ones that won’t be around 5 or 10 years from now..
I’m interested to know your thoughts on this. How has working from home been for you? Have you been able to take on new projects or are you just in maintenance mode? If you’re a parent, how are you balancing educating your kids and getting work done? Leave a comment or drop me a note.