The Future of Work

The pandemic has scrambled the workplace as we knew it. It’s time to start shifting to fit the workplace of the future.

By Janet Heit

“Human contact is so important to me,” says Dara Chapman, a case manager at a New York City social services agency, recalling the isolation she felt during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were still in the office in February and March [2020]. A couple of employees became ill and died. Then we began working from home.”

For Chapman, as for so many other working women, the shift from a physical to virtual workspace was abrupt and initially jarring. “We missed each other,” she says. “I would write to people asking how they were doing. We were like, ‘I hope I get to see you again.’” She also speaks for many in finding the silver lining that ensued during those early, terrifying months. “It was a difficult transition, but I became more productive. You just got up, you didn’t have to commute, you just got to work. So what if I did it in yoga pants and a T-shirt while drowning out street noise?”

If you’ve become accustomed to working remotely, full-time or in combination with going into the office a couple of days a week, you’ve got plenty of company. While the majority of Americans with front-line positions in health care and the service sector worked in person during the pandemic, a whopping 60 percent of others, whose work went virtual or hybrid, said they would prefer to continue with those schedules, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in 2022. That’s up from 54 percent in 2020. This, coupled with the one in four employees who left jobs during the pandemic­—in what has been dubbed the Great Resignation­—represents a seismic shift toward a new business paradigm, one in which employee satisfaction is an essential ingredient to productivity, profitability, and growth.

Research by McKinsey shows that employees who are satisfied with their work have 16 times the motivation compared with dissatisfied employees and are eight times more likely to remain with their employer. And with so many expressing satisfaction with working remotely or in hybrid situations, businesses that can offer these options will have an edge in retaining their employees. The ability to seamlessly work from anywhere portends an exciting shift in the very definition of career success and has the power to reframe everything from work-life balance to work culture and inclusion. But seamless integration will take more than videoconferencing software; it will demand fresh approaches to management, new skill sets, and, above all, a serious commitment to building diverse, collaborative teams.

When the pandemic started, many businesses that went remote were flying by the seat of their pants. We’ve all chuckled about adapting to videoconference calls by wearing office attire from the waist up along with sweatpants and slippers. However, even today, according to a report published by Owl Labs, only 38 percent of employers have upgraded their video technology. But that’s been changing and will continue to evolve. We are already beginning to see implementation of new tech-forward platforms promising friction-free collaborations across physical and virtual spaces; in-office perks like free coffee, cozy collaborative workspaces; and employer-issued improvements for home offices, such as ergonomic chairs.

But this new normal will demand more than physical upgrades. Successful business operations will also require upskilling so-called soft skills, from the C-suite through middle management and entry level. Get ready because everything—interviewing, onboarding, mentoring, criteria for your annual review, your work wardrobe, even your home office decor—is on the move.

Get ready to upskill

Skills transformation will require reinvention and buy-in at all levels. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution,” say researchers at McKinsey. “Permanent change will require exceptional change-management skills and constant pivots based on how well the effort is working over time.” One suggestion proposed by McKinsey staff is an in-house “skilling hub” that can address knowledge and skills gaps to help companies power forward.

“Clarity in communications and being able to establish processes with members of your team are absolutely critical,” says Kristi DePaul, founder and CEO of Founders, an international content and marketing agency. DePaul divides her year between the Pacific Northwest and Israel, and her team (and clients) cover 10 time zones. In a remote and collaborative working environment, says DePaul, “it’s essential to communicate well, especially in writing.” To prevent the sense of isolation and siloing that remote work can engender, DePaul also recommends that managers double down on team building and construct a robust work culture. “You might not be sitting around a physical table, but you can create a coworking space and provide virtual kudos to teammates.” DePaul also has advice for guarding against burnout. “As a longtime remote worker—since 2013—I can speak from experience that overall, location independence has been a major benefit for me and those with whom I’ve worked and interviewed. That said, it’s critical to set some limits so that work doesn’t bleed into your evenings and days off.”

Lauren Pasquarella Daley, PhD, leads the Future of Work initiative at Catalyst, the venerable nonprofit dedicated to achieving equity for women in the workplace. Daley stresses the need for women at all levels of an organization to keep their technical skills current. But tech skills are only part of the picture: Daley also believes that the cultivation of empathy—attunement to others, expression of genuine interest in diverse points of view, and the search for feedback to ensure understanding of what others say or feel—will play an increasingly important role throughout organizations. “Empathy is a skill set demonstrating concern and understanding. It helps build an inclusive and flexible environment,” says Daley. “It’s not a gendered skill. Everybody can get better at it. Empathy helps solve problems before they become bigger problems.”

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: out of the silo, into the mainstream

“Companies are facing a huge challenge retaining and attracting talent,” says DEI expert Geneva Greene, chief growth and strategy officer of Sprouts, a consultancy she founded after leaving her corporate position in 2021. “During the pandemic, many of us were isolated and left with much time for introspection and contemplation. Isolation caused us to pay more attention to what was going on outside our own spheres, and consider the epidemic of senseless killings of African Americans in the United States. People who were ‘othered’ and discriminated against around the globe spoke out in solidarity because they saw commonalities in their experiences.”

A result of this grassroots movement, Greene says, is corporate interest in fast-tracking DEI initiatives. “A 2018 Deloitte survey of millennials found that the individuals surveyed believed their organizations’ top priority was profit when it should be improving society.” In Deloitte’s 2020 survey, she notes, 69 percent of millennials said they would like the option to work from home, and 71 percent felt their company was doing something to improve diversity and inclusion.

“When the Deloitte data is paired with the backdrop of the Great Resignation, it appears that while employees perceive that companies are doing more in diversity and inclusion, there is still a disconnect of priorities and appeal that is driving a surge of resignations,” Greene says. “Companies will have to devise strategies that address DEI and culture improvements in ways that involve significant short-term results and demonstrate long-term investment.” Additionally, Greene says, with Black women entrepreneurs the fastest-growing labor market in the United States, “having selected entrepreneurship over corporate jobs to avoid toxic work cultures, research into why Black women leave could provide companies with insights into improving their approaches to DEI. Since employees tend to leave managers, the strategy must incorporate leader training and action across levels.”

Moving forward

As businesses begin their segue out of the pandemic that took the lives of one million fellow citizens, much remains to be assessed and adapted. However, one thing remains clear: American know-how is very much alive and thriving. And the integration of off-site work, when powered by the values of empathy and DEI, has the potential to transform employee satisfaction and productivity. Now if only someone can figure out how to handle all those emails showing up while we’re on vacation. DW

Janet Heit is writer based in New York City and regular contributor to Diversity Woman. She can be reached at Janet.M.Heit@gmail.com.

Planning a career move?

Get comfortable answering questions such as these, says coach Marti Fischer in her monthly e-letter, Achieve Your Next: