Covid -19 and Beyond….
The pace of societal change has been significant over the last seven weeks and this has been on the back of ongoing change and volatility from the financial crisis to more recently Brexit in the UK. We are chronically aware that the working world continues to change, against this wider backdrop, and the pace of change is not looking likely to slow down any time soon – in fact Covid 19 has accelerated it. The good news for both businesses and individuals is that we can choose to use this as an impetus for changing for the better, and emerge even stronger for inevitable future challenges and change.
Over the course of lockdown we have intensified our research and client conversations around the changes that are taking place at work and the impact these are having on all of us today and also in the future. We focus here on three specific challenges – Stress and Uncertainty, Advancements in Technology and finally the Break-down of the Traditional Team.
Stress and Uncertainty
From our perspective, one of the most documented and talked about workplace themes in recent times (and particularly since the outbreak of Covid-19) is that of stress caused in the main by the amount of uncertainty we are facing. On an economic level this uncertainty is unprecedented. An IMF report in mid-April stated that the global economy is projected to contract by 3% in 2020 and in the most advanced economies will contract by at least 6.5%.
At an executive level there are obvious pressures and strains related to managing a business with less cash and less people. On an individual level the stresses in the UK are wide-ranging, and the pandemic has had a major psychological impact on many of us. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that between the 20th and 30th of March this year 49.6% of the adult population – more than 25 million people – experienced high levels of anxiety. This is up from 21% at the end of 2019. Added to this, 6.2 million people quoted job security as one of their biggest concerns with 5.3 million worrying about their ongoing financial situation. Increased workloads, home schooling, personal wellbeing, and loss are also all real concerns that have a huge impact on our wellbeing and therefore our productivity and effectiveness at work.
Due to ever increasing workloads, tech connectivity and pace of life, many enlightened organisations have had a focus on wellbeing, mental health and employee resilience for some time. Now this focus needs to be dialled up and employed by all. Individuals will need to practice the skills of resilience and learn to manage their emotions and anxieties resourcefully.
In addition, a focus on empathetic and open leadership is also key. We have seen great examples in politics recently of how this type of 21st century leadership plays real dividends. Jacinda Arden, The New Zealand Prime Minister, has been widely praised for her open and empathetic approach – organising press conferences for children, regularly hosting facebook live chats and appearing at home in a sweatshirt for the global media. Her authenticity and empathy has built trust on a national and international level. A poll by Colmor Brunton (New Zealand market research company) in early April revealed that 88% of New Zealanders trusted their government to make the right decisions over Covid-19. This was a higher figure than the other seven largest advanced economies Colmor Brunton also surveyed. Empathy, transparency and openness helps to build confidence and trust between anyone, not just between leaders and voters.
In the business world Marriott’s CEO Arne Sorenson wanted to deliver a video message to all Marriot employees last month. His team advised against it because of his appearance – he had been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, and chemotherapy had left him bald. Sorenson made the video nonetheless and announced that he and the company’s chairman would forgo their salaries in 2020 and that the executive team’s compensation would be halved. This gesture has been replicated by other CEOs around the world. Both of these examples show the impact you have when you connect on an emotional and human level with others – rather than on a a distant and corporate one. It’s a skill that we need to emulate in the workplace to bring people together and build trusted teams.
Whether we run a business, manage a team or deal with client and customers, inspiring trust and optimism will play a huge part in bringing people and organisations back together after Covid 19 and being able to connect with people on an emotional level will be more important than ever before. These skills will be needed to build resilient organisations and individuals that are able to weather change and uncertainty in the long term not just over the next few months.
Advancement in Technology
In addition to ongoing stress and uncertainty, the accelerated and continual advancement of technology is seeing no sign of stopping and is a huge trend we have been following for a while with interest. Technology obviously presents opportunities for businesses and the workplace. During lockdown it has become a lifeline for individuals to connect, communicate, work and play and these tech skills can be used to positive effect in the future. It’s opened our eyes to how things can be done. Cloud based software has taken a much bigger role in how we manage projects making us able to access files and data from anywhere at the click of a button. The way we consume media and make purchases has also changed forever with the continuing move to digital.
However, the ONS predicted pre Covid-19 that 1.5 million people in England were at high risk of losing their jobs to automation and that by 2030, 375 million people worldwide could possibly be at risk. Although expensive to research and invest in initially, automation will continue to boost efficiencies for organisations and therefore could be an ongoing threat to job security in many industries and within many roles.
A big opportunity for the workforce is to adapt and work alongside these tech advancements. Ultimately this means we will often have to prove our value and worth to employees and customers, so it’s important to know what skills will set us apart from automation, AI, robots or digital platforms. Innovative thinking and creativity are certainly key ‘human’ skills that we need to explore. We have already seen the importance of innovation over the last few months during the pandemic with the likes of Mercedes F1 shifting quickly from making cars to breathing aids. And in recent months we have all seen evidence of small local businesses innovating quickly – shops, pharmacies, garden centres offering delivery services and restaurants offering cook at home boxes. Businesses and people that are able to adapt into other markets, try new ways of working and think innovatively offer much more value than those that don’t. Amazon’s continual evolution is testament to this – from online retailer, to streaming service to cloud tech giant. Innovation for success isn’t just limited to times of crisis, it’s fundamental for the long term.
Other ‘human’ skills such as analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, reasoning and problem solving are also going to be essential as they will enable job roles to evolve and for businesses and the workforce to thrive alongside technology in the future.
Break-down of the Traditional Team
The third trend we have identified is how traditional teams have changed. Remote working is nothing new and has been on the rise for some time but reached unprecedented levels during lockdown. The ONS suggest that over the last decade there has been a 25% rise in people working from home in the UK and an IWG Global Workplace Survey in 2019 revealed that 61% of global companies offered some kind of remote working policy. A recent survey by YouGov, O2 and ICM predicts that employees will be reluctant to give up working remotely after lockdown with almost half (45%) expecting to work more flexibly on an ongoing basis. Many commentators believe that this recent remote working ‘experiment’ will result in a more blended approach to work environments in the future with both employees and employers enjoying the benefits that can go hand in hand with it.
In the immediate aftermath of Covid-19 alongside the furloughed staff returning to the workforce, there will be an increasing number of freelancers, consultants and external specialists working within teams. The gig economy is only going to grow and lead to a more fluid team structure. The traditional team as we know it will become less and less prominent in the workplace and we will need to understand and learn how to navigate this effectively.
The way we monitor and manage team performance will need to change and how we keep track of tasks and manage conflict within a team will also have to evolve. It undoubtedly means that professionals with strong skills in collaboration and who are adept at managing team dynamics are going to be in demand. It will also be crucial for everyone in a team to be inclusive of others – whatever their role, location of work, permanency and longevity of service. Understanding the exact ‘make-up’ of the team you are in and responding appropriately to others will be key to effective team development. A much more personalised approach to team leadership will be required.
Finally, the flow and access to specialist information can often be slower or more difficult within blended and fluid teams, so the ability to network ‘nimbly’ and build helpful connections will help hugely with effective collaboration and be another prerequisite for this new generation of employees.
A new definition of leadership
Our view for some time has been that these trends highlight a brand-new definition of leadership. Moving forward, more people at all levels of an organisation will be in a position and have an opportunity to lead others. These fluid teams will see different people directing teams and projects at different times and whether traditional people-managers or not we will all need to lead by example with the right mindset, approach, attitude and outlook to manage the challenges that we all face.
In order to ensure we are prepared for the future, from a business and individual perspective, we need to evolve into a new generation of workers who are able take ownership, feel empowered and ultimately who are skilled and able to step up to meet these challenges. We’ve called this new generation, ‘Generation A’.
‘Generation A’ isn’t about age or job title. It’s about having the right skills, outlook and ability to not only survive the current crisis but thrive in the long term too. This generation will see change as an opportunity and whether people-managers or not will need to work together and show compassion.
As a business owner or leader it is about supporting people to develop the right skills and mindset now. As individuals we need to embrace how the workplace is evolving and ensure we don’t just cling-on and survive but instead relish the prospect of being able to thrive in this new working world. It’s time to start thinking about setting ourselves up now for success in the future. We are sharing our findings and thoughts with you here to start, what we hope will be, an ongoing conversation around working together to support your organisational and people needs.
What next? We’d love your thoughts on this report and look forward to sharing our ‘Generation A’ programme and details of our free online workshop taster session with you over the coming weeks.
Sources and helpful information
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/04/half-of-british-adults-felt-anxious-about-covid-19-lockdown
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47691078
https://www.merchantsavvy.co.uk/remote-working-statistics/
https://blog.aoec.com/how-to-rebuild-confidence-around-the-coronavirus-crisis
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/human-capital/deloitte-uk-workforce-strategies-for-post-covid-19-recovery.pdf
https://bit.ly/3fHSaXM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SprFgoU6aO0&feature=youtu.be