By Mikee Canaman
No one, not even the highly developed countries, was prepared when the pandemic hit the world. As early as February of 2020, borders and businesses shut down one by one, as recommended by health experts. Government agencies employed skeletal workforces, employees were sent to work from home, and sadly, several businesses had to lay off their best people.
That was more or less 80 days ago. Now, countries are starting to let businesses operate again. In some places, people are allowed to visit restaurants for takeout, and kids can also go back to school. Of course, nothing is ever the same.
Even before the pandemic hit, workers struggled to aim for a healthy work-life balance. But now that organizations have been forced to look at the possibility of moving some – if not all – operations into a Work From Home (WFH) setup, new issues emerge.
As homes are turned into offices, concerns that were once separate from the office are now in the same plane. There are kids who want to play, urgent chores that can disrupt meetings, and connection issues. The ‘new normal’ will compel organizations to look at how their work culture can transcend beyond four walls.
This is a time when collaboration is crucial, especially for employees with unique challenges in a remote setup (e.g. single parents). Management should also take into account the use of new tools, like Zoom or Slack. And since most are online, we need to set certain boundaries. For instance: just because someone has the bandwidth to respond to work anytime outside office hours, doesn’t mean they should.
Empathy in this time of crisis remains an important tool for productivity. When people know their management cares, they are more motivated to bring their best to the table. Managing teams in the new normal require new internal controls. However, operations in WFH set up also require trust; trust that employees are as concerned as the employers in the business, and are working just as hard without their bosses looking.
The new normal has changed the way we live and work. It affected SMEs, especially the Food and Beverage (F&B) businesses, as well as the academe and the LGUs. In this regard, FutureSmart launched its program called: The New Normal Series.
It will cover online and in-class training to assist organizations on how to set up their online stores with free and easy tools for the F&B; how to set up online student admission and enrolment for the academe; and how to prepare business portfolios to qualify for loans for small corporations.
For more details, Like and Follow FutureSmart on Facebook, or contact marketing@futuresmart.com.ph
Mikee Canaman is the Senior Manager of FutureSmart, an innovation firm committed to provide data-driven strategies and breakthrough technologies for organizations – private or government-led, to sustain relevance for the future. She is also the Vice Curator of the Iloilo Hub, part of the Global Shapers Community — an initiative of the World Economic Forum, shaping impact in innovation, education, and tourism.
