Morphing The Culture With Times

As we get accustomed to accepting that the pandemic is not ending anytime soon, the Internet is awash with funny memes and cartoons on the mixed experience of WFH. From some that show parents typing away at their work on laptops or computers after having ‘gagged’ their children’s mouths with tape, to others picturising employees’ unusual approaches to finding their work-life balance, these images convey what a large majority of us have experienced of the overlapping of work and home as a result of COVID-19.

The shift from commuting to work to simply getting up, getting dressed (some of us made that effort!), and flipping open a laptop to log in virtually has become an unremarkable, everyday part of life. This is no small shift. But what does it augur for organizations? What parts of this transition are here to stay? And what kind of changes in culture will this bring about for companies and employees? Let us take a look.

Work from anywhere: Here for good

COVID-19 has flipped life as we know it. It includes our expectations of, approach to, and experience of work. What started as an overnight, seemingly temporary arrangement to meet social distancing requirements has settled into the new normal. So much so that a recent survey1 says that up to two-thirds of workers, who have been working from home this past year, would prefer to have the option to work from both home and office.

Another study2 conducted among 750 employed participants, among whom a majority worked from home during the pandemic, confirms and provides additional insights into these findings. Up to 46 percent of those surveyed in this study say they would prefer to work from home as often as possible; another 31 percent say they would like to work from home a few times a week, while only about 17 percent say they cannot wait to return to office.

Managing the new, hybrid world

There is no ‘going back’ to how we used to work. And yet, given the uncertain course of the pandemic, most organizations are either unsure or undecided on ‘return to work’ plans. However, what is equally clear is that each company, depending on the space it operates in, will have to figure out how it can manage the future hybrid model. This includes what mix of on-premise vs. remote work it decides to offer, how it manages collaboration between on-site and off-site staff, what technology it ropes in to enable seamless communication, and how it manages workflows and employee expectations.

Let us take a look at a few companies that have gone public with their plans for a hybrid work model and see how they plan to implement their own work models in the future.

Consider Ford. Following an internal survey conducted in mid-2020, where 95 per cent of its employees indicated a preference for hybrid working, the American automobile giant decided to allow employees who have worked from home through the pandemic to continue doing so. The only time they must report to work is when a project demands in-person interaction or for certain meetings.

Another major company that has also announced its intention to roll out a hybrid model of working is the American bank, Citi. Earlier this March, the company CEO informed employees that Citi staffers will be expected to work only three days a week when the world emerges from the pandemic. In addition, there will be a ban on Zoom calls on Fridays (“Zoom-free Fridays”) and a small proportion of the bank’s 210,000 employees at its Manhattan headquarters will continue to work from home 100 per cent of the time.

Adapting to the culture

Managing this transition is not going to be quick or easy. After all, no company has had prior experience in working the way we have had to over the last year. Going forward, cementing some of these new ways is going to take time, effort, and intuition. But beneath it all, such a shift is going to take a close, continuous and immersive understanding of culture. Culture is the set of unspoken values that make a company what it is. It is the feeling its customers, employees, and investors get from the word go, when they first interact with staff or leadership, and the invisible common denominator that links a group of people together.

Culture must be both expansive enough to include unusual new arrangements and yet vigilant enough to prevent misinterpretation. For example, hard-working employees who prefer to work from home should not be overlooked or underrepresented just because they are less visible than their on-premise colleagues. Likewise, the kinds of collaborative tools a company may decide to give its remote staff should also be offered to employees who choose to come in to work.

Although we are now past the middle of 2021, the world continues to battle with various waves of COVID-19. The end of the pandemic may not yet be near, but organizations can and will adopt new ways of working that are safe, engaging, and culturally empowering.

(The given article is attributed to Elango R, President – Global Hi-Tech & Travel Business Units, New Clients Acquisition – North America, Mphasis and solely created for BW People)