WORKPLACE BY KEVIN KATIGBAK
CHANGING UP CHANGE MANAGEMENT
New understanding of people’s post-COVID needs inform workplace re-entry strategies
E
mployers are currently exploring how hybrid teams can collaborate across geographies and time zones— synchronously and asynchronously— connected via expanding technology that enables virtual interactions and fosters interpersonal relationships. This approach responds to employees’ psychological, social and physical needs
and can create a more inclusive and equitable way of working by breaking down traditional office hierarchies. But implementing this new hybrid work environment will not come without challenges. The office has historically served as the nexus of organizational culture and identity. So, how will people who aren’t always in the physical workplace stay connected to the organization and their
32 CFM&D | Part of the REMI network | www.REMInetwork.com
colleagues who use the office more frequently? Moreover, how can we make the office more accommodating and productive for people when they are on site? What new behaviours will the physical environment need to support and encourage? When the default no longer requires in-office attendance five days a week, what will motivate workers to show up? Organizations are now encouraged to develop a change management process based on a new understanding of the post-COVID needs of their people.
