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Now that we are slowly seeing the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel, the question arises as to what the future holds for working from home - there is often talk of "returning to normality" and "bringing employees back to the office". This is where we see a huge opportunity for development and innovation. The current situation offers organizations and managers the perfect opportunity to rethink processes and start the company's own development process. We support you with tips and ideas on how you can shape workplace culture in the "new normal".
Hybrid working on the rise
The trend towards more flexible working models was already apparent before the Covid-19 pandemic. Some flexitime models or, albeit hesitantly, the option of working from home were introduced. The lockdown then drastically accelerated this development, leading to a rapid and radical change in the way we work. While just under 24% of office employees stated that they worked from home for at least half a day in 2018, the majority of them are now working from home (partly still due to coronavirus).
"Instead of looking back, we should look forward and seize the opportunity to develop further."
Thomas Schneider, Co-Owner & Consultant
Now that we are slowly seeing the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel, the question is what will happen to working from home - there is often talk of "returning to normality" and "bringing employees back to the office". However, a representative survey by Deloitte shows that only 12% of Swiss employees would like to return to the office full-time, while 88% can imagine a "new normal" that includes at least one day of remote work.
The majority of Swiss employees would like a hybrid working model (62%) in which they can choose flexibly between office and home office or remote working instead of working completely remotely in the future (26%).
Who, how much, from where?
When it comes to implementation, the question is: who, how much, from where? But beware, it's not about who you want to allow how much home office or remote working. Rather, it's about meeting the needs of individual employees and finding individual solutions.
For many, this is new territory and there is often no one-size-fits-all solution that works for every organization. In the future, it will primarily be a matter of finding the right balance between working from home and working in the office. In most cases, however, this will not be clear from the outset. So consider the coming months as a transitional phase, experiment (implement suggestions from employees if possible) and observe where the balance settles. Pay particular attention to feedback from your employees, whose needs for personal contact and interaction with colleagues on the one hand and for safety and protection from the virus on the other may vary.
However, a flexible work location alone is not enough to successfully implement hybrid forms of work in the long term. It is now particularly important to maintain team morale, team spirit and team focus.
Shaping workplace culture
The challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis have shown how important a trust-based workplace culture is. Organizations with an excellent workplace culture have mastered the challenges of working from home and remote leadership particularly well. The key indicators here are communication, leadership and, above all, trust.
Cooperation based on trust was and is essential for long-term success, even in hybrid working models: this requires both trust between managers and employees and trust among employees.
The success of a hybrid workplace also depends heavily on the competence of managers. Open, transparent and clear communication is just as important as showing appreciation, encouraging and motivating employees and maintaining cohesion. The more distributed the work is, the more important connecting elements that create cohesion become. And what is more unifying than an overarching goal - a shared mission?
