Dolly Parton once sang about the 9 to 5 work week, a week of day to day in and out of rolling office doors, but now those days are long gone after Covid-19 changed up our working world forever.
Employees no longer look at their work week with an eye of distain knowing they don’t have a say about whether or not they want to come into the office. Employees now look at their working week in terms of a dialogue with their employers.
We have seen over the past 2 years that although working from home has had its tough points, most employees have enjoyed the autonomy and casual working style in their day to day. Because of this, going back to a full work week almost seems impossible, both from a lifestyle point of view and a mental health point of view.
Businesses are now having to navigate a new working world with new employee wants and needs. So, what is the best way to navigate this? Simple. It’s having open and honest conversations.
Chatting with each of your employees and delving into what suits them will make the new working world seem less daunting. Ask them questions such as:
1. What have you enjoyed about working from home? And the reverse of that, what haven’t you enjoyed?
2. What can we do to help your transition back into the office?
3. If you could design your perfect working week, what would it look like to you?
This type of dialogue will give your business and its employees the best foot forward into a post Covid ‘working from home’ world. It will not only assist your business to retain and attract talent, but also support greater productivity, engagement and overall wellbeing.
