The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Working remotely amid pandemic raises post virus questions
This year has been one for the record books. Many of us have experienced new ways of performing our work tasks, new ways of socializing and engaging with the world outside of our homes.
Those who have been capable of working from home have a shared highway of connection. I would include all of our students in this number because their education is their work product and the internet has moved into the realm of a shared good. We have used this connection highway in imaginative and creative ways at a pace faster than many of us could have imagined.
Some organizations have
found that their teams are more productive when compared with their physical office world with online capabilities. A number of tech firms and the Social Security Administration have offered their team members the choice of returning to a physical office or continuing to work remotely.
In my conversations with one executive, he feels there is additional productivity associated with the elongation of the workday. He commented that he now responds to electronic communications into the time he ordinarily would have left his physical office.
Additionally, in my opinion, the benefits of the coffee break with team members has been replaced with a quick dash to the coffee maker and a return to the home workstation. There are benefits and drawbacks to this, of course.
Also, a psychologist I talked with mentioned that we all are at heightened levels of anxiety based upon unusual life situations combined with the societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heightened anxiety should be acknowledged by management teams and addressed in an appropriate manner to keep your team strong, whether working on site or remotely.
Numerous stories have been written about organizations expanding the boundaries of where their teams can live, assuming they can perform their job-related tasks remotely.
In many ways, there are positives associated with that flexibility. However, we should be cautious when we consider a job that can be accomplished remotely if remote means an international location. That concern on the part of workers of being replaced by highly skilled international workers will surely be a conversation in some boardrooms.
There are many sectors of the economy that are experiencing significant change. Some appear to be for the better, such as personal computer sales, delivery services,
the stock market, home furniture and internet services. Other sectors, for example airlines, office furniture, local eateries, physical retail outlets, etc., are facing difficult times.
A few columns back, I wrote about what changes in habits and preferences might develop with customers as a result of the limitations of being outside the home. I recommend you and your team conduct an environmental scan, which will include what the future might hold personally and professionally after the COVID-19 pandemic is suppressed. A focus right now should be on how you and your team will continue or adapt your services to the post-COVID economy
Anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists and other social scientists will study and hopefully provide some guidelines for how cultures and societies could evolve for our collective benefit and new opportunities. One thing we can all agree on is that the pandemic has changed the way we look at our workplaces.
Cornell Wright is the author of “31 Coffee Breaks to a Better Organization,” a trainer and consultant at The Parker Wright Group Inc. in Stratford. The firm strengthens clients’ team development in pursuit of customer service strategies and processes and is a Certified Partner of Predictive Index. He can be reached at 203-377-4226 or cornell@parkerwrightgroup.com.