Today, the world lives in a grey area with no clear, promising future vision. There is no doubt that the pandemic has introduced a new work routine for businesses and individuals that may last after it fades. To be more precise, many companies have followed the concept of working from home to cope with the unstable economic and business crises that have been stated as a result of the existing Corona Virus situation. Many have come to question the nature of work, how to cope with it, and how to manage any work-related consequences.
Moving forward from that point, some businesses in Jordan went bankrupt or had to stop operating until this situation ended. The equation is still vague, especially in Jordan, since the process of knowing how to deal with this pandemic was mysterious.
Remote Working
"Online" means being connected to a computer regardless of where you are (office, home, school, etc.), but people have been forced to stay linked from one place (home) due to the pandemic. Which stressed the concept of telecommuting or remote working from home.
According to Gartner's CFO Survey, 74% of employees will be part of a lasting post-pandemic effect that will shift their careers' path to work permanently from home. What happened can be described as a mess for some companies since they need to prepare to conduct their businesses online, not to forget that some businesses' nature demand crucial offline operations be conducted. For example, car maintenance services can't be conducted online; the action must be offline. However, selling some products can be done online without a crucial need for offline operations.
Companies can be cost-saving if it lessens the cost of real estate, supplies, and turnover rate through telecommuting, reducing overhead expenses. A study showed that companies would save an average of 11,000$ per employee in the USA if the employees were allowed to work remotely from home half-time.
How employees responded to Telecommuting
Employees have shown great satisfaction regarding telecommuting, from which their productivity level is increasing. Time plays a very important role; people at home have flexible working hours, which means work will be conducted when the employee feels most energetic during the day. Nine to five is an office working hour, but ten to three can be the ideal working hours for the employee to work according to the time that suits him the most.
When dealing with online meetings, employees managed to increase their productivity level. Since virtual meetings generally lack face-to-face meetings interruptions. However, technology can fail you sometimes and needs to be fixed. Such meetings can be energy-draining since you must stick behind your computer's screen until the session ends. Unlike offline meetings, where it is easier for employees to connect, interact and engage.
Flexjobs Survey has reported more than 50% of the respondents are willing to work remotely from home, especially after the pandemic. The scene is clear from their perspective: flexible working hours, no commute expense, and better life balance regardless of the distractions at home, the need to work all day "sometimes," and the difficulty in finding the ideal working spot.
Check 7 tips for working remotely: here.
The Most Important Post-Pandemic Requirement
To handle future crises, businesses must apply a proactive approach unless they can handle a reactive approach to deal with such situations. An After-action review analysis helps determine the potential recovery procedures after crises and gives insights into future opportunities. Many companies have dedicated their efforts to building organizational resilience with a well-trained crisis response team.
One of the most important organizational resilience examples is telecommuting. The ability to manage work and adapt to emerging changes is a challenge worth taking for a business to prosper instead of falling. Taking a closer look at how Aimstyle Graphics agency managed to survive with pretty mesmerizing results, the team that worked behind the scenes managed to cope with telecommuting effectively. No work was done from the actual office; the team collaborated and worked from different areas, if not countries, to deliver projects on time.
Continuous online meetings were being held normally and efficiently; direct communication between team members via phone replaced direct face-to-face communication. Above all, harmony between the team was a priority to deliver a proficient work experience without stress.
The pandemic has also pushed people to learn more about conducting meetings, workshops, and conferences via specific programs and tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. Dealing with technology is a must now; there is less reliance on companies' IT departments since employees are conducting needed tasks from home. Some people decided to have their own customized ideal working spot at home, which is made to mimic the ideal working office atmosphere but at home. A new daily routine for working from home should be set to adapt to new work experiences, where they need to manage the work atmosphere from home. This doesn't sound easy.
The Main Idea Behind the Work
Although remote working might not be a cheering idea for some. what should be focused on is getting the job done regardless of the location. The idea behind what has been suggested is being able to access the work resources remotely, which can be done through having software that manages and enables the access of information to employees.
Conclusion
The "New Normal" may vary from business to business and individual to individual, but it will definitely include telecommuting. All signs indicate that although corona has put many obstacles in front of us but has also induced a proactive and reactive approach for companies to cope with the current situation. There will need to be more than the old way of conducting business in the near future. However, some may have a different point of view. What's yours?