AS recovery advances specifically in the labor arena, more jobs are slowly opening up and many organizations are struggling to fill vacated positions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. And while there are plenty of employees racing to make up for lost income and regain lost jobs, many of them are not willing to go back to pre-pandemic work conditions.
For instance, they are more interested in jobs that could be done remotely. There are also industries that are more favored, for example, civil engineering, IT, media and communications, and software development. Interest in occupations that do1n’t lend themselves to remote working has expectedly dropped. Examples of this include childcare, food preparation, and jobs in the service sector, warehousing, and the like. This information is based on data from the job site Indeed.
While there are jobs that cannot be done remotely, the pandemic proved to everyone that productivity does not suffer when employees work remotely. This does not mean, however, that workers are always happy working from home. We’ve seen the blurring of that line that separates home life and work life, as more workers suffer mental health issues, including burnout, stress, depression and anxiety.
All this is a challenge for organizations, which must now find ways to keep talents and to support their well-being. For companies that are at a loss on how to do this, the young workers themselves offer a wealth of ideas. The World Economic Forum’s community of Young Global Leaders offers the following practices that organizations can adopt to be able to build more inclusive and sustainable work environments.
Employers can support their employees—including women and those who have mental health challenges—when they continue to offer flexible work policies even beyond this pandemic. Another positive practice that organizations can adopt is the establishment of an effective communication and feedback system, not just with employees but also with other stakeholders like clients, shareholders, civil society, and the government. Additionally, the young leaders also mentioned that employees must be seen and treated as partners in recovery and growth.
The leaders who will thrive in the new normal, according to the young global leaders, are those who have the courage to value the process and not just the outcome, and those who are able to see and respect people’s inner strengths, values, and rhythms.
Just like the huge change that Covid-19 brought about is the equally monstrous adjustments that it demanded from people all over the world, the leaders who can embrace and rapidly adapt to changes, big or small, are the leaders who will thrive in the post-pandemic world. Change is always an opportunity to grow and, in this case, a chance to learn new skills for survival.