It’s no secret that things aren’t the way they once were. The last 18 months have seen changes even the wildest of dreamers couldn’t have predicted. To paraphrase the Fresh Prince Will Smith, “…life got flipped turned upside down…” and it seems like it’s going to stay that way. In one fell swoop, the work environment has gone through one of the biggest changes in written history and done it within record time. Traditional office environments have disappeared and been replaced with an unfamiliar, yet ironically familiar, working from home environment. The daily commute has been replaced with a more modern tele-commute, allowing for travel around the world without having to leave the comfort of home.
However, not everyone is experiencing these same changes. Essential and frontline workers continue to work, albeit with heavily increased safety measures and little to no contact with customers. And whilst the majority of these changes are set to disappear when we return to a somewhat normal working environment, some changes will be here to stay. Changes like the reduction in cash payments in favour of contactless payment options and new hybrid working environments will form the ‘new norm’ working environment.
But what exactly do these changes look like? Have these changes been positive? What lessons can be learnt from the changes in work?