Fortunately today, the technical aspects of remote work are much easier. However, there is a difference between being technically ready, and being culturally and emotionally ready for this new world.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have to rapidly adjust their way of working. It’s forcing a digitalization that many companies had spoken about, and perhaps mentioned in their marketing, but are now having to implement at breakneck speed.

Fortunately today, the technical aspects of remote work are much easier. Everything from Google docs, Hangouts, Zoom, and Skype for communication, as well as cloud-based process management tools such as Jira, make life significantly easier. However, there is a difference between being technically ready, and being culturally and emotionally ready for this new world.

MAINTAINING THE COMPANIES CULTURE DURING THE TREMENDOUS CHANGE

During times of change, and when almost from one day to the next, your workforce needs to shift how it works, your culture will come under strain. You may have individuals and teams working for the first time both at home, and physically separated.

While the initial focus will, of course, be on maintaining your customer relationships and ensuring your business can successfully navigate this new world, it’s also critically important to consider the impact on your employees and on your culture.

Meanwhile, we all have to understand that the current situation is like a tunnel and we don’t know how long this tunnel is, so better we should respect the time & liberty given by the organization and stay connected with each other through technology.

WORK FROM HOME IS THE “NEW NORMAL”

All the organizations worldwide have ordered their employees to work from home. Work from home has become an unprecedented event or a shift in the working culture but is it working the way the employer is expecting.

The responsibility of bringing movement on in the work is on the shoulders of both Employer and employee. Company culture, leadership, employee experience, and digital workplace experiences are now being put to the test. The way many companies work changed overnight. Massive numbers of workforces have gone remotely. Travel restrictions have gutted the ability to accomplish certain tasks. Team collaboration, moral support and the ability of executive teams to pivot, and quickly, have seemingly never been more paramount.

DAWN OF THE NEW ERA OF THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE

Whatever the future of digital workplaces may one day look like, it is already true to say that people working from home face some specific challenges:

Those who work from home or remotely from elsewhere inevitably accept that the clear boundaries between their professional and private lives will blur. And while teleworking can provide more freedom and flexibility, it is also associated with the need for greater personal responsibility. Managers and affected employees must therefore jointly examine how the balance between private and professional needs can be maintained – not least from the point of view of protecting health.

The potential productivity gains are offset by cultural and social challenges linked to the current tendency toward enforced teleworking on a massive scale. Technology will play a huge part in determining the success of the new ways of working. But it is only one part of it. How successfully and how efficiently digital workplaces will integrate into the culture of any company is not primarily a matter of IT. Rather, it depends on how well the company culture is maintained and what possibilities are offered for social interaction between employees.

To conclude I believe that the global outbreak of COVID-19 presents a significant problem. However, amid its volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity lay hidden opportunities for learning, reinvention, and evolution – at the individual, organizational and societal levels.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house