Don’t Return to Normal!
As the US continues to open up after coronavirus lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, questions remain around how – and whether – this year-long hiatus will change work behaviors. Many employees who have been working at home enjoy the additional time with their families, time gained from not having to commute daily through rush-hour traffic. They take meetings from balconies and backyards in good weather and join their partners/spouses and kids for regular meals. Many feel this is the closest they’ve ever been to their children, and they are reluctant to give up this new work-life balance.
Yet, some employers are ready to throw all those good feelings away so they can get back to work as usual. Many of the big Wall Street banks announced this week that they expect employees to return full-time as soon as possible. While there may be capacity limits imposed by local governments that keep that from happening immediately, the goal is clear: to return to pre-pandemic ways of life, no matter the silver linings gleaned from this past year.
This is a bad idea. Before the pandemic, knowledge workers were already overworked. They often clocked in so many hours that their productivity was actually less than it would have been if they’d worked fewer hours. Putting in office-face-time and taking calls or email after hours led to a lack of focus and attention – both at work and at home. And the expectation that more is better prevented many employees from taking vacations that would have refreshed and energized them and left them more creative and productive. If we truly want what’s best for our companies, we need to do a better job of taking care of our people—and ensuring they know we value them taking care of themselves.
During this time of transition, I urge you to consider your organization’s plans – as well as your personal ones – and to make intentional decisions that will improve productivity as well as the quality of life for your team.
In what ways can you continue to give your workers the connections they’ve strengthened with their families? How might you be able to improve on these changes?
Is remote work a possibility, at least part-time? Where/When do you truly need your people on site? What about offering flexible schedules (like 80/9) or limiting workdays to four per week?
What additional tools can you provide to support work-life balance? And how can you structure policies to encourage your people to remain more balanced?