The New Normal

We have all experienced a vast amount of change in the last few months; both in our personal lives and our working lives. As we are easing out of lock-down and restrictions are being lifted will we go back to the way things were? Or is this the new normal?

Whilst the pandemic has been truly horrendous taking thousands of lives. Lock-down has given us some environmental benefits. Cleaner air has perhaps been the single greatest positive effect of the lock-down on the environment. Citizens in Northern India are seeing the view of the Himalayan mountain range for the first time in their lives. People living in Jalandhar in northern Punjab have shared pictures of the mountains from rooftops and empty streets, amazed by the view which has been hidden by pollution for 30 years. London and other UK cities are also recording a dip in the presence of the harmful substances such as nitrogen dioxide. All of which is driven by less transportation and factories in operation.

Evidently, we need to consider the economic impact on businesses, especially airlines, automobile trade and manufacturing, but these changes driven by circumstance will ultimately change our longer-term behaviours.

The pandemic has opened our eyes to doing things differently. Many have realised the benefits of virtual working. Many organisations are realising that their people are just as, if not more effective, working at home. (This is also supported by many major studies) As a result some businesses are making the decision not to renew office leases or reduce their space and enable a rota of hot-desking. All of which helps the environment, overheads and travel costs.

Whilst working from home prior to lock-down, was widely accepted in many organisations for the odd day a week, there was still some level of stigma attached to it. Our new working lives have now enabled us all to see that we can still hold effective meetings virtually. It doesn’t matter if our working day is split across the day into evening working as we need to be on a childcare shift in the day. If the work gets done, it does not matter how or when we do it. Training programmes and conferences for hundreds of delegates are also being delivered virtually, realising savings of a multitude of hotel rooms, food and beverage and travel costs.

So, is this the new normal, is our virtual new world here to stay? There are evidently major benefits to virtual working and therefore this will drive a shift in how we work. But we can’t deny there are sometimes a need for face to face meetings – it drives emotional connection. But there can be a balance and a cost effective one at that. The new virtual world will undoubtedly continue to play a big role in our lives, so embrace that change. Ensure your team and organisation has the technology to support in this new way of working, and the skills and know how in operating the solutions. Give your teams the opportunity and permission to either work virtually or in person, abiding by current restrictions, empowers them to make the decisions. They will feel motivated and engaged as they have the opportunity to make the choice. Make sure you give them the remit and the capability to work effectively in this new normal.

If you need support in understanding how to get the balance right in the new normal,  please contact us at help@pureblueocean.com