Many polls report that people have discovered real merits of working from home. The past year has seen an increase in digital nomads and working from home. Even before the pandemic, more people were seeking home-based roles for at least some of the week. Where you work is more than just a location. When that location changes, it requires a cultural and behavioural shift that every person in your organisation will have a unique perspective on.
So, what are workers and employers planning to do in 2021 and beyond?
We co-hosted an “Air your Views” session with the Cambridge Network which was attended by 41 participants from a range of local employers and workers in Cambridge. Discussions were varied and fruitful and surfaced five current themes where there are differing perspectives on ‘what next’ between workers and employers:
Here are our top tips on these dilemmas:
- Know what helps you to be your ‘best self. And make time to help others. How can you help other people bring their ‘best selves’ to their work? Have conversations with your colleagues and co-create your new social norms.
- Optimise your physical space. If you think of your physical location as a resource, what do you need from an office? If you are working with others, how can you fairly manage the diversity of need?
- Find meaningful ways to be collaborative and make visible what might be hidden. Open up conversations around what makes others thrive, feel stressed or overwhelmed; share the same for you. If you don’t have a culture of openness, you may want to propose the need for clear guidance for managers around emotionally intelligent remote management.
- Re-contract with your colleagues. Encourage everyone to be open about their circumstances and explore what this means about working together. It may be that some roles, business processes or even service agreements need to change.
- Define what you offer – your ‘proposition’. What are the non-negotiables in your work? Likewise, for employers, know the employment deal you offer. Compare your ‘deal’ with competitors for your workers.