It is still too early to understand the impact of events of the past few years on our working lives.
In the early months of the pandemic, Microsoft talked about two years of digital transformation in just two months, as more people switched to telecommuting and companies scrambled to rethink business models for a better world. The world has changed profoundly.
Two years later and the digital transformation continues to be strong. It is a forced change for organizations that may have no reason to change the way they work for years to come.
The most obvious example of this shift is the shift to remote working, which is now – for many knowledge workers – at least part of their daily working lives.
Giving workers more flexibility about where and when they work has improved their work-life balance. It has proven to many managers that teams can work remotely as effectively as they are in the office.
That’s not to say there aren’t challenges: yes, and they’re becoming increasingly apparent.
Remote employees don’t always feel as connected to the corporate culture as their in-office colleagues. They worry that they’ll miss out on opportunities that office rejecters might grab because they’re sitting next to their boss, or that they’ll overlook the day-to-day coincidences that happen in a coworking space. . Newcomers to the workforce worry about access to mentoring for the same reasons.
And while people seem to be more productive working from home, they can also be less productive when it comes to new ideas.
This doesn’t mean everyone wants to go back to the office – they’re just aware of the problems that working remotely creates.
These problems can be solved, but only if they are acknowledged.
Unfortunately, many organizations are still operating as if telecommuting is a temporary condition that will sooner or later be replaced by a return to the office full-time.
And many managers are floundering without being able to resolve the cohesion issues.
It was a serious failure.
Managers should acknowledge that telework is now a standard part of work for many and has been a core driver of the digital transformation that has taken place over the past two years.
Assuming – or hoping – that telework will be reinstated is just as reasonable as expecting that other digital transformation steps taken over the past two years will also be reversed.
In fact, they are interconnected: flexibility around the workday has supported and enabled flexibility around business models.
READ: Digital transformation in 2022 and beyond: Here are the key trends
There is some suggestion that as the economic outlook worsens and as employees’ bargaining power declines, managers will eventually be able to force employees back into the office.
Such an attitude can simply be offensive to workers, and even in tough economic times, the very best – especially in the tech sector – will still have plenty. another choice. And since telecommuting helps build momentum behind new ideas like the four-day workweek, it’s unlikely the debate over who works where and when will ever be resolved.
Managers should stop pretending that remote work is no more. Instead, they should look at the downsides and figure out how to address them.
That would be a huge challenge, but pretending that remote work is going away isn’t really an option.
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