Some changes are obvious: an increase in the number of employees working remotely, for example, and new daily health screenings especially in critical industries.
But what are some non-obvious workplace changes that are likely to take place?
By Careers, CEO of LEADx and author of Great Leaders Have No Rules
photo: Adam Weber’s LinkedIn post, explaining that employees would be getting Friday’s off, racked up one … PHOTO CREDIT: ADAM WEBER
I recently caught up with Adam Weber, Chief People Officer at Emplify, an Indiana-based employee engagement company. Weber led the charge in creating Emplify’s remote-first playbook and has been quick to share his process with other strategic people leaders. In keeping a pulse on the data flowing through Emplify’s COVID-19 employee well-being assessment, Weber believes we’ll see workplace changes in three meaningful ways over the next decade
Shift 1: The death of the 5-day workweek
In early May, Weber shared a now-viral LinkedIn post explaining that Emplify would be “closed for business” on Fridays throughout the month of May. It racked up one million views in less than 24 hours.
“After reviewing our engagement data, it became clear that our employees need rest and simply encouraging them to ‘take a break when they need it’ isn’t enough,” the post read.
The idea of a 4-day workweek isn’t new, but Weber believes his message resonated because people are tired but either feel guilty taking time off or aren’t able to take time off from work right now. Along with the added benefit of schedule alignment that comes with one collective paid day off per week, research has shown that people who work shorter hours are actually more productive in the long run.