As I’ve said dozens of times on video, on the Future of Work Exchange Podcast, and during numerous webinars: there is/was no silver lining to a global health crisis that killed millions of people and permanently disabled millions more. Many of us were sick ourselves, and many of us lost people close to use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a dark time in our lifetimes, a period in which everyday routines were altered as lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing became a frustrating (and frightening) norm. While we are three-and-a-half years removed from those scary early days of the pandemic, the ramifications will always be apparent…especially in the business arena. In fact, Future of Work acceleration is now perceived as one aspect that was a positive result of the incredible change brought about by the crisis.
Remote and hybrid work models became the calling cards of the pandemic’s impact on corporate culture, as many organizations swapped to fully-remote infrastructures (in the earliest days of the pandemic) and to more hybrid-oriented workplaces when vaccines became omnipresent. Less than two years after the pandemic began, many threads of “normalcy” were apparent in both personal and business life.
And, of course, when the word “normalcy” came back into rotation, it meant one significant thing for some business leaders: getting workers back to the office. These corporate executives craved one major attribute in the face of The Great Resignation and many months of uncertainty, particularly control, better visibility, and, of course, more regulation around worker productivity.
But, there was no putting the “genie” back into the bottle, so to speak. The pandemic was an opportunity for workers (both traditional and contingent) to broadly and loudly speak for their rights; they craved flexibility, better working conditions, clearer career paths, and, perhaps most importantly, purpose. The pandemic took an emotional, “human” tool on the professional world; workers desired fulfillment beyond their salaries.
So, today, we sit in an interesting position. The economy could be heading for a “soft” recession, or, it may not. The labor market remains volatile. Unemployment remains historically low. Life, for the most part, is as back to “normal” as it could possibly be.
However, the lessons learned from the pandemic, which, by now, should be standard practice moving forward (see: empathy, agility, flexibility, etc.) aren’t sticking for many business leaders, some of which expect their workers to now flock back to the office as if remote and hybrid work were just a fad. This sense of, essentially, “flipping a switch” and return to the bustling office days is not only ignorant, it flies in the face of the many progressions we’ve made since the pandemic began.
Last week, Yahoo published an eye-opening article that detailed survey results from three separate studies on remote work, hybrid workplaces, talent retention, and recruitment. What did they all have in common? Take a guess.
“Unispace found that nearly half (42%) of companies with return-to-office mandates witnessed a higher level of employee attrition than they had anticipated. And almost a third (29%) of companies enforcing office returns are struggling with recruitment. In other words, employers knew the mandates would cause some attrition, but they weren’t ready for the serious problems that would result.
Meanwhile, a staggering 76% of employees stand ready to jump ship if their companies decide to pull the plug on flexible work schedules, according to the Greenhouse report. Moreover, employees from historically underrepresented groups are 22% more likely to consider other options if flexibility comes to an end.
In the SHED survey, the gravity of this situation becomes more evident. The survey equates the displeasure of shifting from a flexible work model to a traditional one to that of experiencing a 2-3% pay cut.”
In 2021 and 2022, remote work was not just a workforce model, but rather a representation of the real flexibility that professionals desired in the wake of the pandemic’s overarching impact. The new world of work dictates that businesses optimize their innerworkings based on the principles of agility, a concept that cascades down into how they find talent, how they align that talent with work, and, of course, how that work is done.
In 2023, remote work should not be considered a “perk” or a “nice to have,” but rather an accepted, hardline work model that promotes the talent experience, improves morale, enhances worker satisfaction, and contributes to greater productivity. Abolishing remote and hybrid work policies for an archaic modicum of control is a foolhardy exercise in how to lose talent and demolish recruitment. Yes, folks, there is still a “war for talent” raging, no matter the economic conditions around us. The businesses that adapt, that have adapted, are the ones that understand the proper balance between flexibility and traditional modes of working.
Talent is an enterprise’s top competitive differentiator, today and always. Retention was a problem even before the pandemic and The Great Resignation; in 2023, losing even a handful of highly-skilled workers can be a death knell for a business that struggles to compete in a globalized market. Remote and hybrid work models aren’t just means of organizational flexibility, but rather:
- An effective way to enhance the worker experience through flexible schedules and the “freedom” to make their days more dynamic.
- A robust means to improve mental health and worker wellness.
- A way of expanding talent pools and talent pipelines to include highly-skilled candidates that reside in other regions.
- A powerful workforce productivity concept that promotes quiet spaces, personalized methods of getting work done, etc., and;
- The best possible way for keeping and retaining top talent while boosting morale, improving culture, and enhancing overall employee engagement.
The workforce revolution is still happening today, even in post-pandemic times. Remote and hybrid work stand as Future of Work cornerstones, seamlessly blending flexibility and innovation to sculpt a dynamic and interconnected global workforce.
