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As the vaccination for Covid19 rolls out the long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel is coming into view and our thoughts can tentatively begin to return to future plans.
post covid-19
Whilst many of us are looking to return to the things we loved before the pandemic began, are we seeing a shift in thinking around going back to a physical workplace? And how will organisations manage the workforce that has faced very real personal changes and navigate their way through all the different belief systems and experiences the pandemic has created.
Return to the workplace
Whilst the balance has very obviously swung the other way and we have demonstrated that working from home can work, is the solution to the new workplace less binary than before, and is a hybrid model a reality? In a LinkedIn study of UK C-level executives from mid-sized companies, it found two-fifths expect employees will be resistant to going back when offices reopen.
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With a more flexible future likely, the biggest challenge companies will have beyond safety concerns is how they can create inclusive workplaces and cultures that work for remote workers, hybrid workers, and office-only workers says Janine Chamberlin, Senior Director at LinkedIn.
And yet it would seem that despite research and evidence many leaders want to get back to how we were prior to the pandemic. Whenever the return begins there will be many hurdles to overcome and, according to PXhub.oi, the employee-engagement tool, the three biggest concerns for employees returning to work are: - Contact and proximity to others - Shared spaces being contaminated - Travel to and from work especially where the use of public transport is common For businesses some of these issues will be far more easily overcome than others, and perhaps this will lead to more flexibility around working hours and where we work initially but, once we look at the longer-term picture, will there be an expectation on employees to adapt and return to our pre-pandemic ways? The greatest tool a business can use to gain employee buy-in, is to ask and respond to employee experiences.
