A word of caution to Businesses and Employees re Flexible Working in 2021
What a year 2020 has been! Who would have thought that the question about whether flexible working could be productive would have been answered so emphatically. Companies and individuals adapted at lightning speed, drawing on technology and designing new processes and ways of working that have meant we can all work remotely and do it well. What an amazing achievement to have got through this and kept the show very much on the road at work and at home.
With a vaccine on the near horizon, what does this mean for working in 2021?
Businesses
Here at The Tall Wall our hearts sink when we think of the all-staff emails being drafted setting out the new "rules" for working in a post-vaccine world. Our challenge to business leaders would be to press pause and consider the whether this approach will really deliver what you’re after.
Most people we coach are very keen to be in the office again, but want to retain the flexibility and their autonomy. Yes, they want to come into the office but a return to the 5-day a week commute or set "rules" on when they should and shouldn't come in feels unwarranted. It may be necessary to plan for numbers, logistics, etc. but we are curious about what an invitation back to the office, rather than an instruction, might yield in terms of a positive return for both businesses and their employees. If your people thrived and were productive when they had flexibility and autonomy, where’s the rationale for taking that away? As Duena Blomstrom mentioned in her recent article, ‘Back to Normal isn’t Back to the Office, “Covid has killed ‘command and control’ in terms of physical attendance. The corporate office punch-in system and the peace of mind that micro-managing middle managers got from looking over the office floor are gone forever.”
Employees
From what we’ve heard over the last eight months, whilst flexibility has been positive for so many people (for example, the ability to be there when the kids come home from school; the opportunity to go out for a run during the day etc), the downside has been the blurring of boundaries between work and home life; it has become exhausting finding ways to share family space and properly switch off. In preparation for when a vaccine arrives and you find yourself working from home all or part of the week on a more permanent basis, we’d advocate seizing the opportunity for a thorough boundary reset. You might try one of the following, like an experiment, and notice what work best for you and apply it:
Carve out your work time. When does it start and end? Diarise this. Be clear on what would be a good enough reason to break this? Get specific on the reasons.
Be mentally present in non-work time at home. This might mean clearing away reminders of work from family spaces. If your mind wanders to work issues and you feel the need to "just check that on my laptop" reassure yourself that you have designated time for this, but now is time for you/your family.
Negotiate with your family/household members so the reset works for everyone; that could everything from space sharing, chores, when work stops/starts, electronic downtime, rota for childcare or cooking, etc.
We would love to hear more stories of how businesses are planning to adjust in 2021 and what employees are hoping for. Share your thoughts with us on our LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram accounts