Five Impacts of the Pandemic that Will Change How Employees Show Up for Work

As if preparing for tomorrow weren’t enough of an accelerant to shake things up, Covid-19 made its unannounced entrance turning the world of work upside down. Organizations that had expected their digitization efforts to withstand marketplace volatility or economic downtowns found themselves in a vulnerable state of shock while workers were forced into a remote work environment. Those that are able to absorb the shockwave had long ago begun their digitization efforts while those that are struggling to stay afloat failed to make that pivot.

Without written rules or playbooks to navigate the pandemic, organizational leaders found themselves clinging to the very foundation of their core business model and values while working side by side with employees to pivot their operations and find new ways to withstand the stresses of the pandemic. With much uncertainty ahead, this pandemic will ruthlessly place businesses at the heels of change and force companies to reexamine how they operate and safeguard their employees against seismic upheaval. Here to stay are these five impacts of the pandemic that will affect how leaders and employees show up for work and drive better business outcomes.

Faster decision-making processes and speed to market: What once took three to four months of decision-making rumble will now likely take three to four weeks. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing employees into makeshift home “offices”, employers were forced to respond with speed and agility to maintain the safety and wellbeing of their employees, while also keeping the health of the organization in check. Gone are the days of over-engineered business processes. To keep pace with state and local mandates and customer demand, it was time to quash bureaucratic business processes and put employees and customers as the center of decision making.

In-person interactions move online and in your home: Remember when you once had to fly around that world for that two hour meeting? Remember how much time, money, and resources you spent to “woo” that customer or prospect? Well with travel restrictions in place and many of those commercial airlines grounded, you are now able to get “up close and personal” with your coworkers and customers in a “different” kind of way. Your living room, bedroom, kitchen and garage became your home office and took your professional working relationships to new heights exposing those uninviting intimate, most personal moments to those whom you never intended to share.

Strengthening your Emotional EQ and changing mindsets: The Covid-19 pandemic brought about new ways of thinking and doing that quickly changed our perception of where to draw the line between our personal and professional lives. Things that we thought weren’t our business, now are our business. When you meet with a coworker online via Zoom or a video chat, you bring your authentic self — along with your dog, cat, kid, nanny, husband or wife — into this online world. You begin to realize the nature and complexity within your coworker’s or customer’s life and that there is no perfectly drawn line in the sand to separate our personal lives from work. Exercising empathy, compassion and patience makes us human and whole, and challenges us to shift our perspective of how we perceive our co-workers and business partners.

Greater emphasis on collaboration and communication style over tools: In an office setting primed for workplace efficiency, it was easy to go from one meeting to the next with little interference outside the usual ‘watercooler’ chat, coffee refuel and bio breaks. In the home office, you’re helping your kid move from one online learning class to another, opening up the door for your nanny, juggling kitchen duties and competing with the dog barking in the background. All of these day-to-day routines and interruptions have become part of the new world of work complicating the way we show up to work. With more reliance on digital collaboration tools to get the job done, there is even greater emphasis on communication style and collaboration preference so each of us can be at our best for our colleagues. That means asking what a typical “work” day looks like for each of your team members; if they prefer communications over messenger, email, or video meetings; when they need to schedule time for themselves or their family; and how they can perform at their best. When we take the time to understand our co-workers, consider their work style preferences and respect their time, we can all bring our best self to work.

With more reliance on digital collaboration tools to get the job done, there is even greater emphasis on communication style and collaboration preference so each of us can be at our best for our colleagues.

Digitizing processes and optimizing workflow: With respect to each person’s schedule, comes a greater respect for digitizing processes and workflow. Without ‘war rooms’ and white boards to ruthlessly hammer out the details, map out next steps and drill into the nuances of each project, you are now confined to your home and laptop. As each of us learned, online screen time does not equate to in-person brainstorm and collaboration sessions. What was once a three-hour afternoon work session turned into a 30-minute brainstorm — all with a number of digital tools at your disposal. With digital white boarding tools such as LucidChart, brainstorming tools such as GroupMap, or project management tools such as Asana, Workfront or Basecamp to tie it all together, digitizing work and processes will enable your team to work together and optimize the flow of work.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has brought into light a number of impacts that affect how leaders and employees show up for work. While it may have reinforced the ongoing need to keep up with technology trends, it quickly exposed the human side of work relationships as employees uninvitingly welcomed their co-workers into their home. It challenged long standing perceptions of separating work and home life, strengthened our attitude towards empathy and emotional intelligence, and called for a deeper understanding of workplace collaboration and style. As we continue to thrive and navigate this terrain together, we’ll continue to adapt, evolve and grow knowing that some of these impacts are here to stay for the long haul.