Business leaders have been thrust into a crisis that has forced them to deal with unforeseen challenges at an accelerated timeline outside of their control. Their need to understand and embrace transformations that will reshape society and workplace culture in the wake of COVID-19 has never been more acute. Whether it’s a new perspective on remote work and work-life balance, or a heightened awareness of social inequalities and desire to take action, business owners not only have an important role to play but are expected to lead the way.
As necessity becomes the mother of invention in times of crisis, unforeseen opportunities emerge that allow business owners to break boundaries that seemed unsurmountable before.
“Work-from-Home” Can Work
Before the current crisis erupted in March, increasing commute times and everyday life pressures drove employees to ask for more permissive work-from-home privileges that business owners have struggled with. In addition, many businesses have invested in technologically updated offices designed to increase productivity, enhance collaboration, and impress clients.
So how do business owners respond now that the involuntary work-from-home experiment has been underway for three months and the results aren’t as worrisome as had been predicted?
There has been much debate on productivity levels when employees work from home. Prior to the pandemic, studies by professors at Harvard Business School and Stanford University stated that employees working from home did indeed show an increase in productivity.
According to Statistics Canada, an estimated 40 percent of Canada’s workers were working from home after the lockdown was enforced. A work from home productivity survey from ServiceNow that polled 1,000 office workers revealed 66 percent of Canadians felt productive working from home.
For the most part business owners have realized that there is a potential for balance. Allowing employees to work-from-home will not have the same negative consequences, and previous biases of having to work from one physical location have proven to be false. The data substantiates the work-from-home model and business owners can no longer dismiss this.
For businesses, this is an opportunity to think about their physical footprint and reduce expensive overhead costs. Their recruitment is no longer bound by geographic limitations and they can now select candidates from a wider pool.
However, the work from home model still needs improvement. The ServiceNow survey further revealed that 83 percent of office workers did not think their employers were meeting their technology needs. Of the workers surveyed, 26 percent said their productivity would increase if they were provided with technology for communication, collaboration, workflow management, HR, remote training, and remote onboarding.
Businesses need to focus on providing their employees with the right technological resources if they want to experience a sustainable upward trend in productivity.
Achieving Work-Life Balance
A work-life balance is an important component of maintaining a healthy work environment. This leads to lower levels of stress and helps prevent burnout for employees.
A survey conducted by Robert Half Canada following the COVID-19 pandemic, showed 55 percent of employees working from home experienced better work-life balance. Workers surveyed cited the lack of commuting as the primary factor that led to the improvement in their work-life balance. When asked about measures their companies should take as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 85 percent wanted the option to work from home more frequently.
Business owners have struggled with creating an environment in which the perfect work-life balance can be achieved. However, the pandemic has created opportunities to take meaningful measures towards finding this balance and to feel more confident about them.
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
Working from home and the lack of commuting has led to major Canadian cities experiencing drastic improvements in air quality from when the COVID-19 pandemic first began. By eliminating the need for employees to commute, businesses are reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The break our environment has received as a result of COVID-19 demonstrates that if businesses continue their work-from-home policies, positive long-term changes can be achieved.
“There is a certain reliance in non-human ecological systems. They can bounce back when given a chance.”
Catherine Abreu, Climate Action Network Canada
It’s Time to Truly Embrace Diversity
COVID-19 resulted in businesses having to rethink the traditional work model and with the movement for social justice, its time for them to truly embrace diversity. Business leaders play a role in moving society forward and addressing inequality in the workforce. This movement is a clear sign that society needs to change and for companies, this is no longer just a moral issue, rather it’s what is now being demanded by their customers.
Major brands and industry leaders have begun to answer the call and pulled their ads from Facebook over its refusal to act against hate groups. Small and mid-sized businesses can follow suit and become more proactive in evaluating the impact their decisions have on issues of inequality and diversity.
Diversity in the workplace is a strength as it brings different perspectives. For several companies, this is a wake-up call and they need to realize that only through diversity can we become stronger.
In a time of crisis, it’s important to surround yourself with other leaders who are experiencing the same challenges. Innovators Alliance is a peer-to-peer network of CEOs and top executives that can help you navigate these troubled waters.
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