THE END OF THE WORKPLACE AS WE KNOW IT

A few minutes before the clock struck midnight at the end of 1999, people all over the world were waiting for the onset of a new decade. There was however, a feeling of global anxiety, even panic, leading up to that moment. This was related to the “so-called” Y2K bug, also known as the Millennium Bug. It was anticipated that there would be a digital global crash because of the shift from Year 1900 making it indistinguishable from 2000, which would cause havoc in computer networks across the globe, consequently, resulting in worldwide disaster. Conspiracies even pointed to an apocalyptic vision that we would be witnessing the end of the world. In the end, we entered the new Millennium with no significant problems – the Y2K crisis did not happen – and the world as we knew stayed intact.

Y2020 PANDEMIC

Twenty years on, I cant help but wonder whether conspiracists got the timing wrong and 2020 will now be considered the new Millennium or Y2020 Bug. Unlike Y2K though where professionals had years to prepare for its potential negative global impact, the current COVID-19 crisis has hit us like a tsunami, which we were completely unprepared for. Moreover, this crisis is not just threatening our global structures but rather our very human existence and as such, it’s not a bug but a pandemic. And whether we like it or not, it is changing the world as we know it, in particular in how we interact, how we move and how we work.

From one day to the next the way we live our lives has been dramatically transformed; restrictions of movement, staying in-doors, social distancing; we are relying heavily on internet tools such as FaceTime, Skype, Whatsapp to stay in touch with our loved ones; to have that virtual coffee, drink or dinner with our friends and family; to join one of the many online yoga or workout trainings that we can stream straight from our living room to remain fit; and to tune in to the occasional live meditation session to stay sane. In some ways, the whole world is uniting in this pandemic; trending words like #flattenthecurve #stayhome #quarantine #selfisolation #panicbuying that would have sounded absurd a few months ago are now part of our global lingo. We are collectively feeling all the same feels – anxiety, panic, fear, worry, loneliness, uncertainty, hope, gratitude, survival – with the lingering question of when can we resume our normal lives again?

Whenever that will be though, one thing is for sure – the way we do business will have been forever altered. As such, there are three main factors organizations should consider moving forward:

1. Organizations ARE capable of FAST decision-making

In many workplaces with more bureaucratic structures, decision-making is a long process, one that requires lengthy approval processes and agreements from different stakeholders. Changes in overall policies or employee working practices, which would normally take months, and in some cases even years, to materialize, because of the notion “this is how we do things around here”, have now been implemented in a matter of days.

These same organizations have shown swift and quick decision-making, being able to change working practices and thinking outside the traditional structures that may have been instilled in them for years. Even organizations that may not have appeared as very tech-savvy, have gotten their IT people to quickly and efficiently put systems and communication tools in place that makes remote working a reality (Zoom, Slack, Jabber, WebEx). This shows us how adaptable we are and that when quick decision-making is a necessity and different ways of working are required, changes can happen at a fast pace. It is unfortunate that we need a pandemic to shake up the slow, bureaucratic decision-making processes’ underlying some organizations but it is also a good lesson for when this crisis is over: Organizations are able to act fast, efficient and with more agility, when they want to.

2. Rethinking the Employment Contract

This whole situation has also got us thinking about the NEED for a physical workspace. Most of us are currently working remotely, and it seems to be working well, maybe we are even more productive than before. Endless meetings are being reduced to only necessary virtual ones, which for the most part, has freed up a lot of time to actually do the real work. Business travel has been replaced, where possible, through Skype and WebEx calls, interactions with colleagues are still taking place using the different communication tools and business continuity remains, for the most part, intact.

As time passes, and we move away from the current crisis, who’s to say that remote working will not become the norm? Organizations are learning that they can use technology effectively to work remotely and conduct business. They are also realizing that perhaps the need for face-to-face meetings is not as great as we thought. Now that remote working has been tried and tested, organizations may rethink the employment contract between employee and employer – perhaps replacing the notion of fixed term or full-time employees with a view to embracing more part-time workers and enhanced work flexibility, thereby also reducing the organization’s fixed costs.

3. The Shift Towards More Trust-Based Organizational Cultures

For many organizations, the current crisis provides a huge opportunity to build or enhance a culture of trust. Traditionally, many organizations have relied on their employees being in the office; meeting with them, reviewing responsibilities together, ensuring that deadlines are met, yet now employers have no choice but to empower their employees further and to trust that work responsibilities and deadlines will be met. This changes the whole employee-employer work dynamic. As such, autonomy over work conditions communicates to the employee that their leadership trusts them.
Furthermore, how the senior management in an organisation deals with the challenges arising from this type of crisis is crucial. Are staff informed and updated on the latest developments? Are they being sent re-assuring messages from their CEO? Do they have a support system in place in terms of technical or human resource related problems regarding remote working? Keeping a level of normality during this uncertain period and positioning the organization as a role model who has the situation under control will enhance employees’ trust, commitment and loyalty towards the organization.
SO, WHAT NOW?

What we are currently facing is a crisis unlike any other we have experienced in the past, one that is able to put the whole world on lock down, and it’s here to show us a new way of operating.

Organizations now have an opportunity to observe, reflect, re-create, change and adapt to these new ways of being and working. So while this may be the end of the workplace as we know it, who knows, it may just be the beginning of a new era of organizational flexibility, agility and adaptability.