New normal is driven by individuals, not management

In response to the pandemic-induced challenges, many organisations have had to swiftly re-evaluate, reassign or layoff much of their workforce. This has considerably impacted the workforce across several organisations and sectors. Productivity will be evaluated through results rather than hours spent by the workforce. Employees will exercise more autonomy with less emphasis on time tracking. The World Economic Forum recently cited that 98% of people would like to have the option to work remotely for the rest of their professional lives.

Automation will gain more prominence which means employees will need to diversify their skills or use their existing skills for other jobs. With these complexities at play, organisations will need to map out resources to ensure career pathing, upskilling, reskilling and career advancement support for employees.

Organisations across the globe accomplished high levels of remote working over a short haul, something that in ordinary circumstances would have needed weeks of planning and implementation. This has tremendously changed employee needs and attitudes around the world.

A recent survey conducted by Robert Half, a top recruitment agency, revealed that that majority of the UAE employees want to work from home more frequently while three-quarters want improved office cleaning standards. According to recent estimates by KPMG, up to 30% of employees globally will remain home-based post-crisis.

In the near future, people will be expecting their leaders to be supportive and compassionate about personal circumstances. Transparent communication is also essential to build trust. As the pandemic subsides, people will be seeking employers who are empathetic, accommodating and encouraging.

Remote working is set to be the standard for the immediate future, and will break traditional management structures. It means that organisations will rely on individuals as much as the management as they become more flexible, human-centered and inclusive.

This places an accent on finding new ways for employees to organise their work and interact with customers at more convenient times, organised around lifestyles and personal commitments.

Remote working and social distancing protocols can impact the socialisation aspect of a workplace. As social beings, people miss networking and interacting with their co-workers in-person, which is invariably essential to foster trust and collaboration.

The impact of the pandemic has seen the rise of leaner organisations, resulting in more people taking on new responsibilities that may also require them to upskill and reskill.

As in any change programme, there are always those that cannot or will not adapt and the transition to more digital and remote working may result in job losses and redundancies as well as the need for re-skilling and upskilling.

Concerns have been expressed about the impact of home working on opportunities to build social capital and employee well-being and what is clear is that employers will need to adapt their modus operandi to accommodate more opportunities to allow for the downsides as well as upsides of home remote working.

Key takeaways 

• World Economic Forum cited that 98% people would like to have the option to work remotely for rest of their professional lives.

• Majority of UAE employees want to work from home more frequently while three-quarters want improved office cleaning standards.
• Automation will gain prominence, which means employees will need to diversify skills or use existing skills for other jobs.

• Organisations across the globe accomplished high levels of remote working over a short haul.