It’s been well over a year now since the Covid pandemic hit and when it did many of us went into crisis management mode. Is it time to get out of crisis mode?
We went home to work.
Some of us were lucky enough to have the space to set up an office, others had to make do with bedrooms, kitchen tables and even ironing boards.
Those of us with children juggled work and home schooling.
Some of us gave up with home schooling as our children had enough to deal with already.
Then the meetings started.
Every interaction became a meeting – zoom, microsoft teams, webex and more.
We became wonderfully adept at navigating all the platforms and switching in-between them.
We made it work!
All in all we excelled at managing the crisis.
And yet, many of us spoke about “when it all goes back to normal”
What is normal? What would it be?
This is what I’m seeing now:
People starting work earlier and finishing later because the commute no longer exists.
People forgetting that when they were at the office, they took time to go to the toilet in between meetings as they walked from one meeting space or room to another. Now meetings take place one after the other so that you’re always late for the next one.
Others feeling that they have to be in all meetings because otherwise someone might think that they’re not working.
Some forgetting that phones and text also exist and could replace some meetings.
People saying that they can’t onboard people properly or get to know them or work effectively with them because they have never met them face to face.
And so much more!
What we need to do now:
Move on from crisis mode. We need to take what’s worked and make sure that it is part of the new normal. We need to trust ourselves and each other more – productivity has increased, home working does work and we need systems and processes to make it even better.
Feel good about the commute not having to exist and use those hours to either get more sleep, exercise, take time for the family or whatever else keeps us well.
Start thinking about how else we can incorporate those things that we miss – meeting people face to face, socialising, creating together in a space and more – and make sure that the new normal makes space for it all.
Make more space for different ways of doing things – we’ve done it during the heat of the crisis so why not now?
What else do we need to do? How else can we make the most of everything we’ve learned so far? How can we push the boundaries (that we create!) further and create a new world of work that means that work/life balance is no longer spoken about, it’s just life balance?
Let me know your thoughts.
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