How Workplaces Are Changing
As we will never forget, around March of 2020, Australia started feeling the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As cases began to rise, restrictions and curfews were implemented across borders, and offices were forced to shift in a work from home set up.
As some of you may know, Capisco Fitout Seating is a local business in regional Victoria. As a result of this, our office staff had to start working from home to adhere to social distancing measures. Only the staff at the factory continued to work onsite in order to keep the production and deliveries going.
During these trying times, our team has learned a lot about how the workplace has changed.
1) Mindfulness is not necessarily a bad thing after all
When we’ve asked one of our colleagues the simple question: “What do you think changed here in the office after being in lockdown for more than 3 months?” Her quick response was, “there’s less people in here and we’re more aware of the things around us”.
From her response we learn that people in the workplace are just more cautious and aware now. The constant washing and sanitising of hands, keeping a distance from another co-worker, and just practicing proper hygiene religiously are just a few of the things that will now be part of everyone’s normal routine.
2) The importance of overcoming social isolation and disconnection
After a few months of working at home, with no colleagues around, there were definitely times when things got tough and lonely for the members of our team. The feeling of being secluded can often result into either exhaustion from too much work or can even affect one’s mental health.
With this in mind, employers are now becoming more proactive in watching over their people through clear communication efforts such as: Structured team meetings, team engagements for collaboration, having fun, non-work-related activities and discussions. In this way, employers, managers and team members would all have a sense of connection rather than being disengaged from one another.
In photo: Elf in the shelf makes an appearance at one of our zoom calls just to drive engagement and excitement with the employees
3) Finding the right balance between individual flexibility and good leadership
For some companies, a work-from-home situation can be a walk in the park (call centres, online teaching etc). But for those of us who are new to this and value face-to-face collaboration, it can be a bit tricky.
We’re thankful that this pandemic has taught us how to cope in situations like this. Our sales staff learned how to better empathize with our customers and clients as we were all going through the same thing in this current climate. Their calls weren’t about selling but rather just there to keep the relationship active and let them know that we were there for them.
And this is all thanks to our sales staff being able to have that freedom and individual flexibility. They weren’t pressured to do hardcore sales calls but were given the freedom to explore different ways on how to connect with our customers.
On the other hand, it’s easy for managers to have the tendency of micromanaging their team because they can’t see them physically. Good leadership is about trusting your people and not about dictating and checking each and every move they make.
In closing, workplaces have changed and are continuing to change. But what our current circumstance has taught us are these 3 key things: mindfulness, overcoming social isolation, and balancing both individual flexibility and good leadership.
