Technology played a huge role in helping businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic as working from home/remote work, became the “new normal”. Now businesses are having to turn to technology once again to navigate a swath of unanticipated challenges the “new normal” has unleashed.
But is technology enough?
Henri Fourie, Mint Group’s Head of Delivery, notes that a growing body of research has shown that for all the benefits WFH or hybrid work offers – greater flexibility, saving time and money on frustrating commutes, more family time, no office distractions and so on – there are also surprising and worrying drawbacks.
“These problems are complex and will require a broader approach than ensuring employees are able to connect to the corporate network from wherever they happen to be, while maintaining the security and integrity of corporate data,” he says.
For example, Microsoft’s recently released Work Trend Index Pulse report: “Hybrid Work Is Just Work. Are We Doing It Wrong?” clearly reveals that hybrid work is driving a growing disconnect between employees and leaders. The report is based on a survey of 20 000 people in 11 countries, as well as analysis of trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, along with LinkedIn labour trends and Glint People Science findings.
According to the report, the issues causing the most conflict centre on what constitutes productivity, how to ensure accountability while maintaining autonomy and even the role of the office.
So, for example, 85% of leaders surveyed claimed that the shift to hybrid work had made it challenging to have confidence that employees were being productive. In order to deal with the issue, some organisations use technology to track activity.
However, this has resulted in what is now being referred to as “productivity theatre”, a new digital manifestation of the old problem of “presenteeism” – employees being physically present but mentally checked-out.
For their “Killing Time at Work” report, software companies Qualog and GitLabnew surveyed 2 000 knowledge workers in the US and UK and found that 54% reported feeling pressure to show they are online at certain times of the day. In addition, they spent an additional 67 minutes online every day – just to show their colleagues and managers they are still present and “working”.
This paradox has led to what the Work Trend Index Pulse reports calls “productivity paranoia”: while 87% of workers report they’re being productive, 85% of leaders say the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence their employees are working productively. This negative perception of leaders persists even though hours worked, number of meetings (up 153% since the start of the pandemic) and other activity metrics have increased.
“To bridge this gap, leaders need to clarify company goals, reduce the kind of busywork that doesn’t contribute to those goals, and, most importantly, listen to their team. The research shows that the majority of companies hardly ever collect employee feedback. This situation is exacerbated when employees are seldom in the office and the informal ‘how’s it going?’ conversation in the corridor is no longer possible,” Fourie says.
“When people are no longer in the office together, it’s important to find ways to include feedback loops as part of your process, so that there’s a space and opportunity for feedback to happen. Technology can help with this. Feedback loops should also extend beyond the employees’ formal work to their general well-being – the kind of water-cooler-type conversations that are no longer happening spontaneously.”
Another major issue that is starting to garner more attention is the fact that when people work remotely all or some of the time, they begin to feel alienated from the organisation, its culture and values, and even their colleagues.
The Microsoft survey found that many employees resented going into the office just because the company said they had to. However, well over 80% of respondents stated that they would be motivated to go in if they could socialise with their colleagues or build team bonds.
“This is something companies need to take on board and encourage employee socialising. The challenge, however, is how to include workers who are fully remote and allow them to share the same experiences as their on-site colleagues. Leaders have to create experiences that enable remote employees to build social capital with their fellow employees using digital channels. This will contribute towards making those outside the office feel connected and included,” Fourie says.
Finally, while “the great resignation” has become one of the most discussed post-pandemic phenomena, the survey also found that employees would be more willing to stay at their current organisations if they received more learning and development support.
“What all the research is showing is that the post-pandemic workplace will not return to what it was before. Companies have to deliver an employee experience that is optimised for the way people work now. Technology can help, but there’s also a lot of things that should be done relating to culture and process that goes beyond technology,” Fourie concludes.
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