Reimagining Our New World Of Work

Preparing your organization to be resilient and expansive in times of uncertainty and threat

Covid-19 has had dramatic and long-term effects on how we live and work. In 2020, it caused leaders to address the needs of remote teams, tend to hybrid workforces, and focus on well-being as a fundamental part of work. As we grapple with all of the changes this tumultuous year has brought about, the main question on the minds of most leaders is, “Where do we go from here?” 
 

In 2021, the sheer length of the pandemic’s effects will spur a codification of reimagination -- it will become normal to respond to the unexpected. Old standards of working and previous workflows aren’t going to cut it. We’ll rethink everything. From how we recruit, hire, and engage to how we collaborate and conduct business. There is no playbook for success in 2021, but you can prepare yourself and your organization to be resilient and expansive in times of uncertainty and threat. 

Democratization of Opportunity as Talent Pools Expand

The talent pool has gone global. Remote work now allows recruiters and prospects to expand their search as restrictions around location have been minimized. We don’t anticipate that will change in 2021. Fading are the days of needing to work in the vicinity of a company’s headquarters. Without location constraints, both the job seeker and the employer benefit from the ability to cast a wider net. 

As my colleague, Kim Kimbrough, LinkedIn Economist pointed out, “as remote work becomes more mainstream, we will see a democratization of opportunity and spread of skills across the country.” Workers who may not have had the means or desire to move to high cost-of-living areas will now have access to new jobs, and companies will have access to a broader pool of talent with unique skills and perspectives. This presents a massive opportunity for companies to reach a diverse workforce by giving them access to a wider pool of candidates, and thus recruiting people from different backgrounds and experiences. Leaders who welcome everyone to bring their authentic selves to work will reap the benefits—richer culture, higher engagement, more creativity, and better business results. 

Employee Well-Being and Continuous Learning Will Be a Top Priority

Since March 2020, LinkedIn’s Glint platform has collected 7 million data points via employee surveys on how organizations are responding to the uncertainties of 2020. The findings? Employee burnout rates are climbing -- with no signs of abating.

To tackle employee burnout and well-being, leaders will need to continuously reexamine programs and dismantle processes that don’t add value. This includes taking stock of the basics of work-life: physical offices, standard operating hours, how meetings happen and why, and the ways technology is used. In doing this reevaluation, employee well-being must be at the heart of these decisions. In the next year, standout companies will adopt the right workplace policies, innovations and designs that foster a greater sense of well-being and belonging. 

It’s crucial to note that well-being should not be confined to HR programs or employee resource groups. In fact, continued virtual learning offers a great opportunity to keep employees engaged and empowered. My colleague, Erica Lockheimer, VP of Engineering at LinkedIn Learning noted, “Skills-based, continuous education opportunities will also shift to open up more constructive ways for workers to grow into their next dream role. Going forward, learning content will focus less on what employees need to know to maintain the status quo, and more on new topics that will allow them to expand their skill sets.”

Over the past year, we’ve seen the amount of time people spend on LinkedIn Learning triple. When learning and development and employee engagement strategies work in tandem, they can have a powerful impact on organizations. 

Emphasize Collaboration and Community 

The feeling of connection to teammates is suffering. As compared to their lives before the pandemic, 37% of employees feel less connected to their teammates and 31% feel less connected to their leaders. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that as remote work has continued, we lost the sense of community that we got from being in the office. As my colleague Sabry Tozin, VP of Engineering at LinkedIn noted, “While video calls are nice to connect with team members, they can cause fatigue. There isn't software that truly allows us to foster community in deeper, more meaningful ways. We’re missing an organic sense of connection and community and it’s beginning to take its toll.”

As our reality of a remote workplace continues, organizations need to meet this new method of work by fostering community and collaboration through software. Without the organic “watercooler” conversations or group gatherings, a sense of collective camaraderie is harder to come by. Over the course of the next year, leaders will go above and beyond to discern which tools are most effective and impactful when it comes to community-building in our virtual world. 

Author Bio

Justin Black is the Head of People Science, Glint Platform at LinkedIn. For more than a decade, Justin has been helping high-performing and innovative companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Southwest Airlines understand and take action on their people data. Justin is an expert in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, the science of working smarter. His areas of specialty include survey methodology, people analytics, team effectiveness, innovation, employee engagement, culture change, and organizational effectiveness.  Visit www.glintinc.com Connect Justin Black Follow @IOPsychJustin