Business leaders are being forced to rethink how their companies will work in a post-pandemic world. One of the biggest questions they will face? Where – and when – employees can work.
By the time it’s safe to return to the office, many workers will have spent a year or more working from home. And many are enjoying the extra time and flexibility. Companies may let employees work from home two or more days per week, with some opting for three days in office, two days remote and then two days off – a 3-2-2 work week, if you will – according to Ashley Willians, a professor at Harvard Business School. Some employers may even cut down to a four-day work week altogether.
“Employees will demand greater flexibility and organisations will require it,” Whillans said. “What this flexibility will look like will vary depending on the sector and geographic location. But, hopefully, if we do this right, gridlock morning commutes will be a thing of the past.”
Cloud computing giant Salesforce has unveiled a new work policy for its 54,000 global employees, giving them three options: flex, fully remote, and office based. The company believes that “in our ever-connected world,” employees no longer need to adhere to a strict 8-hour schedule.
Salesforce expects more than 65% of its workforce to come into the office only one to three days a week in the future, up from 40% before the pandemic. Salesforce is pathfinding the way for talent to be their best; at times and locations when and where they can be most productive.
The future of work is a mix of work hours and workdays; #WFH remote work, digital nomadism and the occasional day in the office. It is not one size fits all into a traditional 40-hour work week.
If indeed this does play out, then the question on how a business holds onto culture and at the same time nurtures talent from a distance whilst ensuring productivity expectations are being achieved will be a real challenge for the people teams to get their minds around as there is only so much online learning you can achieve without interaction in a meaningful way.
