Rethinking Workplace Ecosystem during Crisis Recovery Period: Lessons from COVID-19
Keywords:
Workplace, rethink, crisis recovery, COVID-19.Abstract
Aim: The aim of the study was to rethink how workplace ecosystem should be modelled during crisis recovery period with lessons from COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: The study adopted a desktop review of literature on publications, interviews and surveys by major global consultancy firms. This method established an extensive data research using online data sources. Only resources relating to the topic under study were considered for inclusion.
Results: The analysis of the data resulted in a process that led to a core category that showed how the workplace can be re-imagined, re-improved and re-invented, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, where five different strategic categories to achieve that target were identified within this process. These strategic categories are; opportunity to break with the past, workplace redesign, technology, digital strategy, and remote working and new sense of workplace.
Conclusion: COVID-19 exposed many weaknesses and issues that have been present in business for a long time, in particular how to carry out daily activities from physical to virtual interactions perspective. In the new way of operating, companies are able to identify which roles need to be carried out face to face or which of them do not, and to what extent.
Recommendations: The study recommend human resources managers to position themselves as HR who are designed for speed, new ways of working, digital first, teams, adaptable organizational strategies, and changing business requirements. As organizations rethink work, it is important they communicate how and why they are redeploying workers and identify how this supports new business priorities. This includes providing context and rationale for changes and clear communication on new workforce policies. The study also recommend HR leaders to reassess and explain compensation and promotion plans for the short term while managing expectations through the recovery process and toward sustainable operations.
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