{"id":2061,"date":"2020-08-10T23:24:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T12:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/australia\/?p=2061"},"modified":"2021-02-05T14:25:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T03:25:11","slug":"how-to-navigate-the-new-working-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/australia\/how-to-navigate-the-new-working-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"How to navigate the new working normal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Leahy, Director, Great People Inside Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Someone once said that “eighty percent of success is showing up” perhaps we should add “in your pyjamas” and it would fit better with how some employees are experiencing the new reality of working from home.
\nWe all know that this pandemic left employers with no alternative other than to direct their employees to work work-from-home.While some companies may have existing work from home policies the current work from home regime has been forced upon us and comes complete with many headaches, regardless of whether existing work from home policies were in place or not.<\/p>\n

During COVID-19 many organisations across the globe experienced significant increases in the number of employees who were required to work remotely. Now, as the world slowly comes to grips with this new working reality, companies are finding that many existing and potential new employees are expressing a desire to continue working remotely into the future.<\/p>\n

Twitter was one of the first companies to go to a work from home model. In fact, they have stated publicly that they “don’t anticipate being one of the first to return to offices” but instead “if (their) employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they wish to continue to do so forever, (they) will make that happen”.<\/p>\n

We can all agree that we are in the middle of an age of great technological advancement and we are also facing fundamental changes in the way we live and work. If we zoom out, the spotlight is on how businesses will adapt to a world where it is increasingly difficult to travel overseas and trade relationships between nations are changing. How will we adapt to this disruption to globalisation? Can technology save us in the long term? Businesses like Zoom, Skype and Slack are a few of the many online solutions to our current levels of separation which allow us to communicate as teams, but questions still remain around how this will play out in the long term.<\/p>\n

What does it mean for your business?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Much has been written on how remote working will mean a reduction in office real estate and significant cost savings. Many employers are also finding themselves already offering the flexibility of remote work as a benefit to existing and new employees. Millennials who currently represent around 50% of the workforce, and are expected to represent 75% by 2025, place great importance on this type of flexibility when deciding whether they remain with or join a new employer. The fact is that technology and the latest tools make people working remotely effective and means that the need for physical proximity has been greatly reduced. This shift is a test for all businesses robustness, agility and ability to make decisions quickly. “People are our most important asset” is a well-worn clich\u00e9, but now more than ever people are front and centre in these key deliberations.<\/p>\n

It’s our belief that gradually, organisations will likely transition to a type of hybrid working model, with some employees working from the office and others working from home, or a mixture of the two. This sounds relatively straight forward but as we know us humans are complex beings<\/a>. Many employees today, conscious of the fragility of their employment in the current environment will go with the flow to ensure job retention. The fact is that not everyone can or is suited to a remote environment.<\/p>\n

The real challenge facing employers of all sizes is how will they support their people and keep their team cohesive. Once you are sure that the home environment is safe and appropriate for your potential remote workers, how do you:<\/p>\n