Experts Predict: Post-Covid Work Will Be Flexible, But We Still Need Our Offices
Lockdowns around the world proved that we are able to get work done even confined in our homes, as well as how far technology has come. However, physical distance and sitting at home comes with considerable drawbacks. What should stay and what should go once we’re able to return to some sort of normalcy? We’ve gathered the most interesting opinions on the future of work by leading experts and executives.
Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and bestselling author, for World Economic Forum
“We’re going to see a lot of employers embrace more flexibility around working from home and having virtual teams. They’re going to find out that it wasn’t as impossible as they thought it was, and there are some productivity gains that come from not having to commute, and getting to work where you want. On an individual level, unfortunately, there are some people who are going to face post-traumatic stress.”
Grant explained that post-traumatic stress doesn’t necessarily need to be only negative, as many respond to trauma constructively.
“Post-traumatic growth is the sense that, I wish this didn’t happen but, given that it happened, I feel like I am better in some way. It might be a heightened sense of personal strength; it could be a deeper sense of gratitude; it could be finding new meaning, or investing more in relationships.”
Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO at Thrive Global for CNBC
“I think that the future of work is going to change, and the future of life is going to change. One of the fundamental beliefs that has been driving us all is that in order to be successful, we basically need to be “on” all the time. I think that’s going to be completely sacrificed. Because we are all seeing much more clearly the price we pay for that.”
Reed Hastings, CEO at Netflix for Wall Street Journal
“If I had to guess, the five-day workweek will become four days in the office while one day is virtual from home. I’d bet that’s where a lot of companies end up.”
Netflix CEO is very blunt about his view on working from home: he thinks it’s terrible.
“I don’t see any positives. Not being able to get together in person, particularly internationally, is a pure negative. I’ve been super impressed at people’s sacrifices. Once we can get a majority of people vaccinated, then it’s probably back in the office.”
Daniel Susskind, a Fellow in Economics at Oxford University, a Visiting Professor at King’s College London, the co-author of The Future of the Professions (2015) and the author of A World Without Work (2020) in his LinkedIn blog
“To begin with, the pandemic has given us a frightening glimpse of the future. Over the last few months, we have found ourselves in a world with less work – not because ‘the robots took all the jobs’, but because this virus has completely decimated the demand that so many of those jobs relied upon, and the interventions that have been required to contain its spread have made economic matters worse.”
Susskind warns that while he predicted the challenges of the world with less work to come in the next decades, they are already here due to COVID-19.
“The future of work after COVID-19 will demand our attention in 2021. Though the pandemic will eventually recede, the threat of automation will not. On the contrary, as set out, that threat is likely to have increased. And the challenges that we have glimpsed over the last few months will return and test us once again. We must learn what we can from this year and prepare our response.”
Bozoma Saint-John, CMO at Netflix at Cannes Lions
“I don’t think we’ll ever return fully to the way things were, but I do think that there are some things that will balance themselves out. I think we’re all very aware that this high rate of speed is probably not the healthiest. Not just for the individuals who are working at this speed, but also for the wellness of the business, the campaigns and narratives we are telling. There are many more mistakes that happen when you’re moving fast.”
Saint-John doesn’t exactly miss the times when we didn’t act based on our feelings and gut, but waited for what data tells us. However, she thinks we need to find a middle ground between the two extremes.
“At the same time, the speed at which we’re moving really doesn’t help us to sit and understand culture, really look at trends that are coming and understand them before we make movements, so I do hope there is a bit of a slowdown in the way we react. Although, this is really conditioning us to move faster, to be smarter and really drive from our human emotion first.”
