The future of work has come to fruition much sooner than expected as people from all corners of the workforce transition to remote working for the first time.
This sudden change has had a huge impact on business performance, while leaders and staff struggle with the uncertainty of what could come next. Although the state of the world is undoubtedly stressful, it indicates the beginning of what to expect from the new normal workplace.
It is unclear how long the current situation will last, but it can be expected that employees may have different expectations of their workplace in the future, such as the ability to have more flexible work options and access to advanced technology. Even more, leaders will realize the benefits of remote working like reductions in overhead costs.
In order to lead a distributed workforce, leaders will need to make an extra effort to communicate with workers to keep everyone on the same page and ensure productivity.
Implementing the proper technology resources will be essential as the majority of the workforce are now digitally native millennials. This means employers need to ensure the employee experience is curated to attract top talent.
This includes implementing opportunities that allow these younger workers to reskill and develop. Gone are the days of the one-size-fits-all approach of learning — employers need to adopt tailored, on-demand modules that address skills gaps for particular roles.