A BIT OF THIS, a bit of that

Rather than embarking on the crazy train of panic, or being caught unaware, employees should get ahead of the curve and prepare for work's fast-approaching 'new normal'.

- BY KEITH BAIN

Change, as they say, is inevitable. That needn't be a bad thing, so long as we're not caught entirely off-guard.

In the past few years, though, the pace of change in the workplace has been radical. First, Covid-19 swooped in and sent everyone home, prompting soothsayers to jump to the conclusion that the days of formal, shared office space were over.

Having tasted freedom and proved to themselves and their bosses how efficient working remotely could be, many believed that working from home was not only the new normal, but that employees sent packing during the pandemic would refuse to return to the office.

What's happened instead is the rise of hybrid work. A few days at home, a few at the office, an in-between system that recognises the benefits of both.

MAKING A CONNECTION

There are indeed significant benefits to skipping the office. No more early-morning traffic congestion, no more small talk around the water cooler. No more lengthy in-person meetings. All that interstitial fluff, that time suck and energy wastage, never mind the personality clashes, the gossip, that guy from sales who returned to the office tipsy after an overlong Friday lunch.

But there are disadvantages to staying at home, too. If not the screaming children in the background, then the cats invading Zoom meetings or Karen from accounts accidentally live-streaming her "personal care" spa day while she's meant to be writing that urgent report.