We’ve been talking a lot about “Return of the Workplace” and “The Future (or Present) of Work.” That view is an inaccurate read on the situation. Instead, let’s focus on “The Way Things Were” and “The Way Things Are.”
The Way Things Are is not just about the “where” of work, but also the “what, when, how, and why.” As a recent survey from Slack points out, most employees want to be able to work from home and at the office. These results certainly dovetail with the findings of our own employee survey that Bret Starr shared in his LinkedIn video. And those changes will have an impact on workplace design, as an article in the Wall Street Journal explained in detail. Earlier this month, CNN Business covered a story on how working at home part time is good for both people and businesses. Here’s what they said.
So, what about the large percentage of workers who don’t have the luxury of working from home? This crisis has raised awareness about the value of workers who stock our shelves, work our cash registers, and deliver all the stuff we order. We’re seeing Work Tech solutions like Harri and Legion that improve the lives and employee experience of hourly workers.
Waiting for things to return to The Way They Were is the wrong response to 2020. Sure, there was familiarity, but don’t forget there was a lot that sucked about it. Stop waiting. Move on. Work Tech is about building solutions for what’s next. Go forward. #LetsWORK