The pandemic has changed—and continues to do so—the global work landscape. The policies and practices that used to work may already seem outdated today. For example, leaders can’t motivate their employees or workers with the same carrot because their needs are evolving.
Additionally, bosses and business owners have to deal with what economists call “The Great Resignation” because workers are more ready than ever to leave their jobs if the situation calls for it. Obviously, leaders can’t just relax and watch this exodus.
People in general are learning to value the things that matter. Family, mental health, and wellness are among the priorities now. I believe that even the way we choose our political leaders—more specifically, the things we look for in a leader—is changing now.
Leaders in both business and government need to be able to look more deeply into the lives of people and determine how they can respond to their needs in such a way that the things the people value are prioritized. For instance, policies, structures and systems may be designed holistically and flexibly so that they are more democratic and agile.
In the workplace, leaders need to assure the workers that everyone enjoys equal access to opportunities. That’s just one of the many things bosses can do. The mental and physical well-being of workers have to be monitored and maintained, as well. This is where business owners and the human resource department need to work together to come up with new solutions using fresh data.
Another example would be to employ a skills-first strategy in hiring and keeping people. This simply means that the organization should learn to value skills over work experience and educational attainment.
A traditional office may find it challenging to pull this one off, but an institution could replace talents more easily or even prevent the loss of employees using this method—which is not really new but is currently just emerging due to the talent crisis described above.
Now, we must remember that as the world of work rapidly changes in almost every way, it is becoming harder to find employees and workers who have the necessary skills to adapt to this developing, post-pandemic world and our new normal.
To stay afloat, business and government leaders need to have an infrastructure in place that will allow them to find the right talent, and to actually keep them engaged. Technology and innovations can help leaders here, along with tools and resources that can present unique, outside-the-box solutions because, as we know, new problems and a new situation call for new ways of thinking. Perhaps it would be safe to assume that it’s the creative, unconventional leader who gets ahead in this unfamiliar post-pandemic landscape.