Gazing into the horizon of future work
Hybrid work poised to become a global phenomenon
Amazon recently announced their return- to- work policy which spotlights the real complications of the future of work. Promoting a hybrid model, employees will work remotely but commute to the office on a needs basis whilst customer- facing employees will be office- bound.
It looks like the function rather than the industry may dictate the nature of future work policies. Their policy is different from Microsoft, which have postponed the re- opening of their office. The tech giants may have put a stamp on a world of work that has changed forever.
What can we learn from all the posturing and meandering?
That the office- block brick and mortar context that we have grown accustomed to is dead. What the disruption has highlighted in fact is that organisations comprise people and not buildings. The context of buildings, machines and other resources are tools that enable humans to work.
Undoubtedly, remote work has higher productivity and a renewed interest in work performance which relies heavily on context. To be fair, the flexi- work model was already underway in most countries, but the pandemic accelerated its impact.
In the interim, leaders have heeded the call and progressive organisations have perfected the hybrid model of work. A hybrid workforce ushered in new behaviours and skills that build forward and better.
Key amongst the transformational behaviours is collaboration, commitment, learning and better performance. Across the board, all employees learn new skills, especially digital transformation, which is an accelerated process of technical adaptation by individuals, businesses and nations to the change processes in the value chain.
The merging of technology, automation and people facilitates amplification of the narrative through metrics that measure performance more accurately.
With that, there are lessons for both leaders and employees. The overnight scalable but flexible transformation of the operational processes, infrastructure and people ignited a new appetite for quality work. Built- into the systems are agile enough
processes that allow for an immediate switch- over as a way of digital proficiency.
With more than 50 percent of employees in the US preferring hybrid work, it is obvious that this will be a global phenomenon. Organisations that fail to comply will be at a disadvantage.
What is less obvious to us is that there is now a greater pool of exceptionally talented people who can work for an organisation from anywhere in the world. Potentially, remote work has unlocked hidden value for employers.
No doubt, leaders must manage performance- based and value- driven teams. Therein lies the opportunity for developing collaborative network systems designed to promote an inclusive culture. One of the greatest achievements is the dissolution of barriers in inter and intra- connected teams across large footprints.
Taking globalisation a notch up can only serve to invigorate the leadership process from recruitment, inventions such as a digital leader or digital nomads, which by all indications are futuristic. Even more dramatic is the emergence of C- Suite descriptions of the Chief Leadership Officer who links the operational and human strategies to achieve an effective and inclusive performance- it is a cross- functional role.
Notwithstanding the implications for the tax system and local regulations, compensation levels better reflect the true value of workers, an attraction to global citizens.
An added advantage is that contemporary employees are already accustomed to flexibility and digital social networks. At the margins, companies have also started to hire ready- to- work experts and temporary employees who add instant value.
Any downside is related to the threat to local talent who, unless they are equally skilled and employable, are easily replaceable. If this rings a clarion bell, it should because talent is now competing on a global scale.
With the foregoing, organisational structures and the design of the future workspace, require the leadership of organisations to re- conceive the human and operational processes, a challenge of imagination, of aspiration, and of coherence.