By Nikhil Anand
About three years ago, when the new coronavirus took us hostage, who would have thought that it was about to bring about a new world order? It took a respiratory illness to teach us not only about physical hygiene but also about cleanliness of the mind. Isolated and alone, we learned the importance of sanity as it became more and more fragile. The result was incredible: a renewed focus on mental health, greater efforts to maintain interpersonal relationships, and a general increase in empathy. All of these factors have affected our workplaces and transformed the way we function as teams and individuals. Or so we thought they did.
A global electronics manufacturer in the heart of Asia recently adopted the “closed-loop” system to keep production running. While the concept of ensuring uninterrupted productivity by allowing employees to live and work on site sounds like a great antidote to the danger of Covid, implementing it safely is easier said than done. To counter the same, hefty bonuses were offered to workers who were willing to work despite the health risks.
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The question here is, is it possible to offset the fundamentals of culture, experience, and mental health with monetary compensation? Go back to the pre-Covid era and this question would have sounded ridiculous to many. Today, however, these are valid questions that major stakeholders are still trying to figure out. A healthy work-life balance, flexibility at work, diversity, health and wellness are non-negotiable. While money remains a major motivator, these are the things that are defining the post-Covid workplace around the world.
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So how do we get back to normal? We must go back to the pandemic and take back what we learned from it. The first and most notable of these is empathy. Covid-19 showed the power of kindness and empathy on a global scale. Stunned by similar uncertainties and heartaches, people from all over the world were able to relate to each other and reach out to each other with humanity and camaraderie.
The changing narrative of professionalism was sparked by this new approach to EQ. Remote and hybrid work models broke down the rigidity of work by giving employees the flexibility to work within their comfort zones. From parents in need of attention to children who unknowingly showed up at work meetings, it was not uncommon for employees to discover new sides of each. All while the work continued at the proper pace.
This seems like the right time to refresh our memories a bit and review what we promised ourselves during the peak of Covid. We prioritized humanity and saw how it made us better employers, employees, coworkers, and people in general. Yes, giving our people some slack is not easy when we have goals to meet and products to sell. It seems like a sustainable means of achieving our goals because no matter where we plan to go, we need our people to get there.
(The author is Senior Vice President of Operations at NLB Services. Opinions are personal and not financierexpress.com)
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