With a workforce yearning for a better way, for years we’ve been discussing the pros and cons of offering our people more flexibility.
Whilst we knew there would be benefits, we also had our reservations: How would we keep the culture strong when our people don’t see each other every day? Could our systems and technology support everyone working remotely? And ultimately could our people really be TRUSTED to work anywhere other than the office?
This year, the worlds’ biggest experiment in remote working took place. As leaders, we had to look above all of our fears and reservations of what might happen. We simply had to make it happen – and quickly. Suddenly teams as large as 20,000 were being deployed to work from home in as
little as a week!
Initially, the results were predominantly positive – work got done, the technology (mostly) sufficiently supported us and most people thrived without the daily commute and the ability to better integrate work and home life.
And whilst these benefits still remain, reality started to hit pretty quickly. Loneliness, the blurring of boundaries between home and work, family tension and more difficulties around collaboration have bubbled to the surface. And whilst almost all leaders in our Collective agree there’s no turning back to the way things were, we have some big tasks ahead of us to ensure our teams thrive in this new environment.
Against this backdrop, we asked 4 of our incredible storytellers and champions how we can make this new normal of flexible working truly work for the long term. Here’s what they had to say:
You can join Eglantine, Steve, Kath and Alana in a week full of ideas, discussion and co-creation dedicated to TRUST and making flexible work work as part of the Surviving to Thriving 8-Week Journey of Transformation, kicking off next month!
Register by NEXT WEEK to save $300!