A client recently reached out seeking insights into employee experience management and how the nature of the workplace will change in the future—particularly in light of the changes we’re already seeing due to Covid-19. Here’s a quick take-away:
- Today the first question we’re likely to hear on a remote call is, “How are you holding up?” Followed by comments like, “Don’t stress if you’re feeling overwhelemed, this is tough, we’ll get through it.” After Covid-19, successful organizations will bring this concern for employee health and wellbeing back to workplace creating a future in whichemployee wellbeing becomes the new normal.
- Humans are social creatures. Social distancing is giving us time to reflect on what matters most and family, friends, and self-development rank at the top. Individuals who have maintained employment during Covid-19 are experiencing something many of us never have—combining work life with home life five days a week. Many working parents are currently feeling utterly overwhelmed and longing for a second for themselves, which is completely understandable. That being said, as time goes by we will adapt to our circumstances. Once employees return to the physical workplace, they may have new ideas of what a healthy work-life balance looks like.
- Successful employers will be genuinely interested in learning from their employees experience – digging deep to hear what each employee would like to bring back to the organization. Some will desire more flexible work schedules, some will want on-site mental health care, others will just be ready to get back in the office and happy things are back to some semblance of normalcy. No matter what, each employee will need to be heard and their experience valued. This may require creating new roles within the company to manage after-Covid19 needs.
- One thing is certain, employees and prospective employees will want to know how corporate leadership responded to the Covid-19 crisis. What did they learned from it? How has it changed business-as-usual? What programs did they implement to support employees’ physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing?