When working life resumes properly once Coronavirus restrictions have eased people may find that their work patterns are substantially different from previously.
While, sadly, some SMEs will not have survived others may find that their agility and perhaps new innovations introduced during lockdown will have given their businesses a new lease of life for the future.
Those who have shown consideration for their employees, suppliers and customers will have built up a level of goodwill that will stand them in good stead for the future.
I shall examine in another blog those businesses, sectors and processes that may benefit from the changed landscape but in this blog I am focusing on the likely changes to business work patterns and the relationships between employers and their stakeholders.
Because, of course, employers are also people, they will have discovered that they and their families are no more immune to the health risks of the pandemic than any of their employees.
This may well result in an increase in empathy between people at all levels and result in closer and more considerate working relations.
Indeed, an article in Forbes highlights this among the many beneficial changes in work patterns likely to be the result.
It identifies key positives that could result including increased support from businesses for employees: “Companies have been forced to consider employee wellbeing more holistically—in terms of not only the physical, but also mental and emotional wellbeing.”
Employees may find that their employers are much more aware of their different family responsibilities and more understanding of the ways family and friends are critical to life and happiness.
At a more basic level, if employees are to return to their workplaces, their health and workplace safety will be a high priority, suggesting an end to hot-desking, for example, leading to safer workspaces.
Desks could become spaced out, partitions could go up, cleaning stations stocked with hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes will become the norm, and workers may seek out new places for focused work.
At a more basic level, safe travel to work may mean more people cycling or walking and less use of public transport, which is something that employers may have to take into account.
Dealing with the crisis, Forbes argues, could result in more effective leaders, especially those who “communicate clearly, stay calm and strong, demonstrate empathy, think long-term and take appropriate decisive action.”
Arguably, it says, relationships with teammates will also be stronger and closer after people have faced a common enemy.
New work patterns will also allow for more diversity and flexibility where businesses have discovered that it is perfectly possible to run effectively with employees working remotely, perhaps also having discovered new skills and strengths among their employees as a result.
Similarly, the new “normal” may have made it clear how few physical meetings are actually needed compared to pre-pandemic working life. This may well lead to employees’ work patterns involving far less bureaucracy and offering more opportunities for them to innovate and suggest ideas for future development.
It may also lead to greater use of new technology based on the new skills learnt while in isolation lockdown at home.
Savvy SME owners will be those who assess the good things that have come out of the crisis and incorporate them into more flexible work patterns for those valued employees who have stuck by them in difficult times, to the benefit of both the business and all those who work in it.
Menu