Coronavirus created a drastic situation which required drastic measures. It would be an understatement to say that the workplace has changed. However, something much more fundamental was reshaped. Here is a look at the new attitudes to work and the management styles that make this change sustainable.
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New Normal Work Culture
The ‘culture’ of a workplace is rarely easy to define or measure. It consists of unwritten norms, behaviors, and expectations. Before COVID-19 only the most progressive of organizations made any effort to deliberately set culture. Most firms allowed a default culture to seep in. Things are very different now.
A report by MIT Sloan Management Review from October 2020 found that work culture saw a dramatic improvement during and after the crisis. The study analyzed over 1.4 million employer reviews on Glassdoor.com. It recorded a sharp rise in the average culture rating given to organizations from April through August 2020. Employees rated their organizations better on transparency and communication. Hubspot, Hilton, and HP emerged as the new ‘Work culture champions’. Evidently a large number of firms were working hard toward cultural transformation.
Leadership and Trust
A 2020 Deloitte Study on ‘Changing Organizational Cultural and Mindset’ found that leaders have “significantly upped their game” during the COVID-19 crisis. Employees of over 69% of the surveyed companies applauded their organizational leadership for their efforts in building trust. Many of these employees shared stories of senior managers connecting with individual employees. Before COVID-19 things like this were unheard of. The sanctity of the organizational hierarchy had been absolute. Yet, so many leaders were now initiating open communication channels with their grassroots employees.
All this change was taking place at a time of great uncertainty. Hertz, Uber, and others had laid off employees by the thousands. ‘Furlough’ had become a household word. The migrant worker community was particularly concerned. For many of them the top priority has always been to be able to send money online to their families as remittances. Employees everywhere were facing fears of more layoffs. It was a tense time for millions.
Some captains of industry saw an urgent need to create trust among employees. Their solution was simple – share information. By keeping employees updated of what the management was thinking they assuaged uncertainty. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly rejected the possibilities of layoffs earlier this year. Despite closing several retail outlets Apple continued to pay salaries to retail employees. Such decisive actions by leaders created trust and improved relationships between management and employees.
Communication and Transparency
Employees everywhere are reporting a marked improvement in the quality of communication from top managements. The MIT study found that 88% of employees expressed positive sentiments about their leaders’ honesty and transparency. 53% of employees appreciated their top leadership for efforts on keeping their employees abreast of company-wide developments. As a result employees trusted COVID-19 related information coming from their employers more than any other source. The Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 found that employers were the most trusted source of information on coronavirus, ahead of government officials, news sources, and social media.
Collaboration and Inclusive Participation
The Deloitte Study also found evidence of unprecedented cooperation. Employees of 74% of the surveyed firms reported a significant increase in collaborative efforts. Before COVID-19 cross-departmental meetings with sales, HR, finance, and others used to be hard to arrange. Post COVID-19 they are scheduled quickly and easily. This led to increased productivity and faster response times. Many employees observed how inter-team conflicts more or less dissipated. Now teams come together to pursue common objectives. They just get things done.
Survey respondents saw the emergence of more flexible workplace policies. Hierarchies became relaxed. More organizations started letting employees make decisions. With employees taking the final calls in serious matters, authority became delegated. This was unimaginable in the pre-pandemic era. Employees loved the increased trust and confidence of employers. Organizations started noticing improvements in employee productivity. Free from the constraints of too much supervision and monitoring the employees seemed to be performing better.
Emergence of A Digital Workspace
Cisco System’s Global Workforce Survey 2020 found something interesting. 87% of employees want the option to choose where, how, and when they work. No commute, more convenience, and greater flexibility were the primary reasons cited. Before COVID-19 most organizations were highly unlikely to accede to such demands. Nowadays the same organizations allow workers to attend meetings and participate in conferences from home, or even when on vacation. Many are looking at dynamic and geographically dispersed teams as a permanent feature. For several firms this has brought the benefit of reduced cost. Minimizing office space leases and administrative overheads helps improve the bottom-line. The emergence of a new digital workplace is allowing organizations to shift from a ‘workplace-delivery’ culture to an ‘anywhere-delivery’ culture.
About The Author:
Hemant G is a contributing writer at Sparkwebs LLC, a Digital and Content Marketing Agency. When he’s not writing, he loves to travel, scuba dive, and watch documentaries.