The demands for a better working arrangement–whether it is at home or the office–were all exacerbated by the pandemic. The longer we spend our time working from home, the more we long for the presence of and collaboration with our colleagues.
Nothing beats the physical togetherness of teams in building a stronger connection and work engagement. Employers are aware of the lowering collaboration since remote work was implemented.
As we return to normalcy little by little, a new chapter of the post-pandemic workplace unfolds. See how these new post-pandemic workplace trends are setting the bar for businesses today.
The state of the workplace post-pandemic
COVID-19 has given global economies far-reaching complications that led the world into a new normal. It has brought an increasingly difficult situation not just for employees but managers and business leaders as well.
Companies have to find new ways to realign and strategically incorporate the latest changes in the post-pandemic workplace in order to keep up with the recent market developments. A big portion of staffing has been stretched to meet the needs of other critical business areas.
A recent example of this can be observed in customer service, where agents who do not normally work in troubleshooting have been handling additional technical tasks to fulfill other support needs.
Companies also have to consider that a huge portion of today’s workforce prefers remote work, and 58% are willing to quit just to satisfy this need.
While transitioning back to the office or to a hybrid work model, companies also have to prepare for new costs in office space, utilities, equipment, and all the technology needed for a company to function.
Meanwhile, many of the industries that thrived even at the height of the pandemic are those focused on digital solutions such as e-commerce and customer service. They are expected to see further growth post-pandemic, and companies are in the best position to hire social media managers, graphic designers, and customer service representatives to fill in new job positions.
There are a lot of never-before-seen trends in the workplace that demands consideration. Read on to find out what these post-pandemic workplace trends are.
Post-pandemic workplace trends to expect
As companies adapt to new business behaviors, there are post-pandemic workplace trends that are likely to stick and change the trajectory of how companies will operate.
Here are the post-pandemic workplace trends businesses should look into:
Repurposing of the workplace
The traditional way an office works is a thing of the pre-pandemic past. Business leaders have seen that employees can be repurposed into new business areas. Further, they can get their work done anywhere as long as they have the resources.
Due to proven increased productivity in the remote work model, offices are now operating more freely and encouraging hybrid and coworking systems to increase collaboration.
Virtual recruitment and onboarding
Virtual recruitment and onboarding is the process of hiring new people to your company through digital means. Virtual hiring has been the new normal for human resource teams and small businesses to grow their organization.
Contrary to traditional interviews and training that take place in the hiring stage, onboarding in the new normal is much faster, smoother, and more streamlined with the help of cloud-based technology.
HR teams can also be creative to make the information-gathering stage less dreadful and more efficient. You can use Google Forms, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Skype for instant messaging, which saves effort and time to process more candidates.
Hybrid work
This may be the highlight in the pool of post-pandemic workplace trends. The changes from on-site to full remote work and the gradual transition back to the office have resulted in a mixture of the two work models.
The hybrid setup offers flexibility that other working models can’t. It’s perfectly designed to support the need of the employees to achieve a work-life balance. In a report by McKinsey, half of the employees are willing to adopt a hybrid working model–coming two to three times to the office every week.
A hybrid office is possible with the help of the right virtual and collaboration tools, proper hybrid work procedures, and streamlined implementation.
Greater focus on employees’ wellbeing
The last couple of years has shown how vulnerable we are as human beings and how lacking we organizations are in prioritizing people’s health. More workplaces are now putting the focus on policies and procedures that aim to regularly check up on employees’ wellbeing.
Apart from taking all the necessary hygiene and sanitation precautions to prevent the spread of viruses, companies are now investing in office ergonomics, better workstations, hot desking, comfortable seating, and most importantly, care packages.
Transparency in the workplace
Before the pandemic, organizations were already facing increased demand for transparency. Employees and even job applicants would naturally want to know how a certain organization is treating its people.
Managers should value employees’ feedback and work with all members of the company in calling decisions concerning the pandemic that might affect the company and the brand.
In the event the management needs to implement budget cuts, they have to ensure that financial impacts are not an attack on the employee’s end. They should show how they can support employees despite having cost-saving measures.
It’s also important to set expectations and prepare the workforce for possible changes in staffing, working conditions, and the like.
Working in the new normal
As we soldier on in a post-pandemic workplace, workers and businesses are faced with new demands in the operations.
Every business has its own definition of new normal. It’s up to them how they will cope and address the birthing pains of the post-pandemic workplace.
So, in order to keep up with the recent transitions, companies need to factor these post-pandemic workplace trends into their processes.
