The year 2020 has become history and major concerns now are the immediate pandemic-related challenges in the workplace and how these impact the future of work around the world.
The future workplace as envisioned by forward thinking business leaders has suddenly become a reality overnight, changing how businesses operate and how employee experience plays a role in the work.
The first half of last year will go down as one of the most tumultuous periods in modern history. Without doubt, lessons have been learned by all stakeholders, not least business leaders and facility managers. These forward-looking lessons will be useful as they articulate strategies for their return-to-office plan.
The lessons learned can be applied as many organizations begin rolling out their return-to-work strategies. Specific lessons were identified from information gathered as a result of COVID-19 experiences. These lessons highlight particular changes in mindset, attitude, direction, and behavior that will be particularly important.
Stronger Outlook: Many FM practitioners and business leaders share a common belief that their businesses will one way or another come out of the pandemic crisis stronger despite the challenges. This optimism is indicative of the ingenuity and innovation organizations have shown in navigating the crisis.
New working methods : Flexible working is here to stay, and it will benefit organizations as well as employees. Businesses are realizing that work can happen anywhere as virtual teams work across locations and agile teams are formed and disbanded around specific activities.
Wellness and wellbeing: Facility managers and business leaders recognize and accept that there’s now a need to increase emphasis on employee work-life balance as a result of the pandemic. This includes the overall well-being and wellness of all staff in an organization. Facility managers expect this to be maintained over the long term.
The use of technology: It is incredible to see how the use of technology has increased the set-up of virtual meetings on a daily basis. Many initiatives around digital transformation have been accelerated.
Many business leaders and FM professionals see Covid-19 pandemic as a catalyst for major change within the built environment with focus and priority on health and safety despite the socio-economic challenges faced by both public and private sectors of the economy.
From a business agility and resiliency perspective, the question remains whether the lessons learned can withstand the test of time however the confidence is that workplace culture is transforming in the right direction and there is need to learn and adapt quickly from this experience.
