Here we are. Working at home on another Friday. It’s hard to believe that it has been two months working this way. How do we reconcile the fact that two months ago we didn’t want employees working at home, because it wasn’t “productive”? We thought that employees couldn’t get anything done with kids, animals, and other distractions, yet here we are.
In the past week, I have heard from a number of former telecommuting naysayers that their employees are actually more productive. How can that be with dogs barking, cats purring, kids crying and crawling into laps, and many-a-spouse walking through the background of numerous Zoom calls? We all have to be a little more tolerant, a little more organized, and a little more focused. Why? Because we have to.
Now, we are training our brains and our bodies to work differently. We don’t have the two hour commutes, the lunch hours, or the numerous interruptions of co-workers. We wake up, complete our work, and gain some life balance. Two months of this. What does the future look like? How do we go back to the old normal? We don’t.
Workplaces will be different. Telecommuting will be expected by employees and encouraged by management. Work-life balance won’t be a platitude in HR speak, but an actual benefit of this great trial period called Covid-19. You watch. I’m predicting a massive shift in how we think and practice work.
