Back to the future way of working

How do employers retain the best from before and during Covid-19 in the post-Covid era? 

Last year, the entire working nation temporarily changed its work rhythm and habits. For some, this has less travelling time, more productivity and a better work-life balance yielded. In other places, however even more but less effective meetings and less clear boundaries between work and private life, resulting in negative impact on employee well-being. So what differentiates the companies that have seen productivity gains from those where work is not done as efficiently as before?

A post-Covid balance in flexibility

We have looked into the future of work. Core to this is that you  asynchronous uses of place and time. Whereas before the lockdowns there was generally a lot of local and simultaneous work, in many places during the lockdowns this shifted abruptly to virtual and simultaneous. That leaves the question, though, which elements of both forms of work do we want to take into the future? How can we design our work better so that work is better valued and more effective?

Test your future-proofing and experiment

Based on our knowledge, we have compiled best practices into six axes that can be used to shape the future of work. If you want to learn more about this, and simultaneously evaluate the future-proofing of your organisation, you can do our quick-scan. If you already have an idea where things are lacking, we can also help you make micro interventions to discover which best practice suits your organisation best.Some examples are:

• Asynchronous content collaboration - how and where to pass the baton
• Asynchronous decision-making - with more time for decisions than impromptu during meetings
• Social connection without 'coffee corner' - how to maintain a sense of community
• Asynchronous without 'always on' - for clear expectations in terms of availability and productivity