Coronavirus has undoubtedly changed our lives by making us adapt to new rules. Some of these rules might disappear when the crisis is over, but some of them have potentially become a part of our lives. As we begin to operate after lockdown, let’s take a look at some of the work trends drove in by Coronavirus that are here to stay, even after the pandemic is over:
Commuting will never be the same again
This applies especially to the cities where most people travel with public transportation, i.e., every major city.
In the upcoming times, even when the pandemic is over, most people would hesitate from forming a crowd at bus & metro stations, and other public transportation areas. Since most people would be reluctant to use public transportation in the future, public transportation areas will see fewer crowds during peak hours.
Moreover, authorities will likely introduce social distancing rules for everyone to follow, which will cause people to work from home rather than waiting in line and getting late for office.
Flexible work
Some companies have already introduced plans to let their employees work full time from their homes. Many other organizations are planning to offer their employees some flexibility with work policies that will allow them to work from home some days of the week.
Since more and more people have gotten used to working from home and have realized that the same amount of work can be done at the comfort of our houses, the traditional office timings are less likely to resume after the pandemic.
Decentralized offices
Since social distancing norms will stay for a foreseeable future, organizations are having to rethink ways of assembling employees in a way that does not crowd the workspace. While flexible work hours and staggered timings will help in this concerned area, many companies will have to decentralize their offices.
Companies will have to resort to satellite offices, which can be provided by coworking space, business centers, and serviced offices. There are many office space in Delhi has already started their campaign.
One of the advantages of working in satellite offices or coworking space is that the workers will feel motivated to give their best because of being surrounded by productive individuals. Moreover, working from home must have realized that our houses don’t offer an optimal working environment, especially if there are other members in the house with you.
Rethinking meetings
Meetings are already being placed digitally, thanks to apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. However, according to recent research, video meetings tend to be more tiring than physical ones because participants spend more energy in trying to process facial expressions and body language.
A new term called “Zoom fatigue” was also coined recently, as more and more organizations resorted to holding online meetings because of lockdown. In the upcoming months, companies might have to figure out alternate ways of holding meetings with their employees.
Moreover, instead of having an entire day filled with video calls, companies would have to prioritize which meeting requires instant video calls and which could wait for a face to face interaction.
Managing the line between life and work
The past years have been incredibly productive for most of the companies all over the world, but at what cost? Employees find that it is hard for them to discern their personal lives from their work lives.
Now that more and more people are working from home, they have started to realize the value of having time for themselves. Maintaining that line between work and life has become vital if one is to avoid burnout and stress.
Besides, one of the vices of working from home is that one tends to work overtime, not realizing that they are on all the time.