The New Normal

 

Tarun started the online meeting…

Ajay: Good morning Tarun

Tarun: Good morning, George is joining the meeting in another 5-10 minutes.

Ajay: And what about Sonia?

Tarun: I believe she has accepted the meeting.

Ajay: Oh yeah, she is there.

Sonia: Good morning everyone.

Tarun: Good morning Sonu, I mean Sonia.

Ajay: Good morning.

George: Good morning team, shall we start with the presentation?

Tarun: Yes sir.

George: Are you guys able to see my screen?

Sonia: No sir.

Ajay: Not yet, sir.

George: Technical glitch, I guess. Let me restart it.

George is the presenter now.

Tarun: We can see the slides now.

George: Ok. Great! So, team, as you know, we are in the unprecedented times now, where we have no option but to embrace this change in our corporate culture to increase business.

Such conversations over team meetings are now common irrespective of the scale of the meeting. And this seems to continue in the year 2021 under the name of ‘The New Normal’. With many companies in the service sector announcing Work From Home (WFH) till March 2021, WFH would be the new normal. However, WFH can be useful when you need time to concentrate, somewhere quiet. But, when you’re physically away from the office for months, you develop a different pattern which can affect work productivity. Employees are already under pressure to be productive under this new normal. And, they need an assurance that they’re psychologically and physically supported and trusted to do what is necessary, without feeling that they need to compensate for the loss of productivity by working longer hours. Many businesses that required physical presence were shut down during the lockdown only to open with retrenched manpower. For such businesses, WFH during lockdown was not a conducive environment and it impacted the mental health of many. In times of extreme uncertainty, clear communication is significant. People should feel supported, with their basic needs and expectations met, and be provided with the required equipment and assurances about their job security.

 

This COVID crisis has meant adapting quickly to a new way of not only working in the corporate world but a different way of living altogether. High flying executives have understood that not every meeting needs a business class flight travel or a cosy hotel to clinch a deal. Instead, an online meeting or a virtual discussion with good preparation can also fetch productive results. I had travelled fifty times a year in 2016 for official meetings, and with hindsight, I can now say that out of those 50, at least 20 meetings could have been scheduled online in the new normal. The new normal has actually taught individuals, particularly from the government sector to be ‘aatmanirbhar’ or self-reliant, in terms of carrying their own bags/food to the office, driving their own cars or photocopying documents on their own without depending on office-help.

 

The new year will hopefully carry forward this culture with more tasks going the digital way under the new normal. However, there needs to be clear and consistent communication with the decision parameters to the corporate staff using all the communication tools. The lack of visibility can mean increased anxieties around being laid off or possible redundancy. So, there is a dire need to have confidence that the line managers are managing effectively. If the decision-makers have spent time with line managers, building their capability to manage staff remotely, such companies can reap the advantages. The line managers should be able to monitor not only productivity but also their staff’s welfare, home situation and any other support they might need - like providing them with a laptop, headset, office chair or an orthopaedical cushion in the era of social distancing, masks and online meetings.

 

In corporate or otherwise, the COVID crisis has taught us that one should be kind to others and not judge how they seem to be coping by how you feel you are coping. After all, your own physical, mental and emotional health is more important than anything else in the new normal. The performance of an individual or an organization cannot be measured in the same way as in the pre-COVID times, for the moment. So, accepting the reality and being prepared for the new normal is the mantra for the good times to arrive in the year 2021.