The business world has faced a lot of change in the past year and a half because of COVID. Working remotely is now a more widespread thing. Digital marketing is stronger than ever. Online shopping has grown exponentially.
But, what’s next? What do we do after the pandemic is over and things are “back to normal?”
While everyone is excited for things to go back to normal, is the pre-COVID normal really what we want to go back to? Or are the way things are today actually better than what we were used to? (Minus the virus part, of course!)
Let’s discuss crucial things your company should consider doing post-COVID-19 and why.
1) Permanent Hybrid Work Setups
On top of this list are hybrid work setups. COVID has caused an influx of remote workers in order to abide by health protocols which means more employees are working from home and have on-site employees follow a set schedule to prevent overcrowding in the workplace.
There are plenty of benefits behind a hybrid work setup aside from it being more convenient for employees.
Number one, it decreases your operational costs. Did you know that big tech companies like Google saved $1B in operational costs after implementing work-from-home due to the pandemic? IBM (remote work pioneers) also has had remote workers for decades now and have saved much more than that.
Although to be fair, IBM and other tech companies are ending most of their decades-old remote work policies already because they think that face-to-face connections are valuable and “always online” culture is toxic. But that’s why you should consider hybrid work setups instead. Work in the office sometimes, but work at home on other days.
This leads us to point number two. Hybrid work set-ups allow for a more balanced work-life setting for most employees. Of course, a more balanced lifestyle leads to more productivity. An absolute win-win for the employer and the employee.
Number three, even if it sounds like a stretch, a hybrid work setup means that you would be contributing to fewer commutes and less pollution. More savings, more productivity, but less carbon footprint really sounds good to most companies’ ears.
What do you think? Are hybrid work set-ups the future?
2) Invest in Improving AI Capabilities
Most companies are probably already investing in artificial intelligence to make their workflows better. But just in case your company’s still behind this trend, please start considering it sooner.
AI is the future and it will change our workplace habits and culture for the better.
One way for your company to stay ahead of the curve (or at least stay on track) is by investing in AI. Investing in AI can provide great benefits in the workplace such as reduced stress while helping employees get their tasks done way quicker. It can also improve the quality of outputs made while reducing human errors, which is something that we all try to avoid.
Investment in AI changes are quite expensive at the moment, but if you want smoother workflows, it could be a worthy choice. While AI may not replace human work it definitely is something that can make your workplace a better place.
3) Explore the Four Day Work Week
Consider letting your employees work for four days a week instead of five.
The four-day work week has already been tested in various places around the world and so far, it has been producing great results.
In Iceland, a four-day work week study has shown “overwhelming success.” Overall, it helped employees become more productive because they were also performing better mentally. It has reduced stress levels which showed great results!
Although, a four-day work week doesn’t mean that you will reduce your employees’ salaries. (Just to be clear). Unfortunately, they are most likely going to be even more stressed if you do that.
The four day work week doesn’t mean that less work is going to be done though. Studies have shown that employees are not productive all the time during work hours, anyway. By shifting to a four-day work week, it’s like you’re just collecting those idle employee hours and dumping them all in one day.
Again, this situation would still be a win-win for most employees and employers in many industries. More time for employees to destress means happier employees. Happier employees? More productive workdays and happier employers.
However, of course, it’s not going to work for everyone. It’s important that your company experiment with different settings first before making this a permanent change.
