5 Ways That Covid-19 Will Change Your Working Life Forever (For The Better!)
Covid-19 has changed things a lot. And I think I speak for all of us when I say, it’s about time we hear some good news relating to the pandemic.
We’re praying for the vaccination programme to go to plan so that we can make up for all those lockdown birthdays, cancelled Christmas plans, and underwhelming New Year’s countdowns, when June 21st rolls round!
But the virus has taught us some valuable lessons, and believe it or not, there are some real positives to be taken from how things have changed. Here are a few ways that Covid-19 will positively impact your working life forever…
Company Culture Will Become A Focus
Covid-19 has seen most companies completely transform the way they work. And one of the biggest changes has been working from home. With companies no longer defined by their location or their office, the importance of company culture has never been greater.
For the first time, businesses are all operating under equally limited ways of working. An important way for a business to continue to inspire, innovate, and set themselves apart during the pandemic, is how they implement company culture.
As well as communicating the values and personality of the business, a focus on company culture is also an effective way to maintain employee satisfaction during uncertain times. We think you’ll see company culture remain a central concern in the post-Covid world.
You’ll Have More Confidence With Technology
Zoom? Completed it, mate.
Remember the days when jumping on a conference call was daunting? Me neither. It feels like we’ve been living on video calls. Since the dawn of Covid-19, we’ve become so accustomed to remote communication that - despite the two-metre rule - the world has never felt smaller.
All those walls you had built up against new technology, will likely be permanently dissolved. You’ll find it easier to connect with people remotely and adjust to new technological ways of working. Turns out, chatting to someone over a screen is nowhere near as scary as we thought.
Office Spaces Will Be More Creative
If we ever return to the office after the Covid-19 pandemic, the way in which we think about the office has to change.
It’s likely that remote working will continue to be implemented long after the pandemic has settled. For many, the office will no longer be your primary place-of-work – it will be a space for collaboration.
Yes, the pandemic has taught us that there’s so much we can do online. But, at the same time, there’s only so much we can do online. There’s still nothing that gets the creative juices flowing more than a good face-to-face brainstorming sesh.
Offices will want to get creative with their spaces so that they are optimised for what will be their primary function going forward – working together.
Mental Health Will Be An Open Conversation
Potentially, one of the greatest changes to come out of Covid-19, has been the shift in attitudes toward discussions on mental health.
We have never been more open and honest about how we are feeling, and it is unlikely that we will suddenly stop supporting each other’s mental health as soon as we get a jab in our arm.
Covid-19 has brought to light the sheer universality of mental health struggles, and the stigmas attached to mental health are decidedly redundant. We anticipate a future in which companies will continue to actively look after the mental health of their employees and facilitate a healthy work-life balance.
Productivity Will Be Valued Over Sacrifice
In the pre-Covid world, it felt like the most important thing in was to show up to the office at nine, stick around for at least eight hours, then go home. How much work you actually got done was often secondary, so long as you were seen to be giving up your time.
The truth is, that all of us have different levels of productivity at different times of the day. The pandemic has proven that we don’t need to be in the office, glued to our screens, in order to get the job done.
As we move toward a world where Covid-19 is controlled, our approach to work will likely be changed forever. We’ll value not the sacrifice of people’s time, but how productive they can be with that time.
Afterall, tell a person they can clock off after they’ve served their 8-hour sentence, and they’ll make the job last all day; Tell them they can leave as soon as it’s done, and they’ll get it done in half the time. This can only be a good thing (early finish Fridays, anyone?)
