Everything About Work Has Changed Since The Pandemic

One can argue that the lengthy lockdown and the hardship alleviating stimulus check handed to many made them lazy, entitled, and unmotivated to work. But the truth is that the pandemic altered everything we regarded as normal and changed people’s perception of work.

The great resignation which is still ongoing and the rapid acceptability of remote work is how different individuals and organizations are responding to the pandemic-induced change.

People have come to realize how rewarding, productive, and less stressful remote work could be. This realization has made the option to stay at home, complete the same task, and earn the same pay more appealing, preferable, and widely accepted for both employees and employers. It has caused remote work to gain an unimaginable level of acceptability by individuals and organizations.

Employers that have for years mistreated their employees with excessive workloads that are incommensurate with their salaries are losing some of their top talents to companies that treat their workers well and give them the choice of a flexible working arrangement, better salary package, and more opportunity for self-development.

There’s no end in sight to the ongoing change in our professional lives. Rapid technology development and unabated climate-related factors would continue to dictate the way forward.

Flexibility is the yearning of many employees. They want to have control over how they work. They want to take responsibility for what works for them professionally. They don’t want to see their employers setting fixed working arrangements for them like in the past.

Organizations that will adapt quickly to change, design, and implement employee-friendly policies would stand a chance of retaining their top talents. While organizations that are slow to adapt, design, and implement policies that resonate with what today’s workers expect from employers will continue to lose top talents to forward-thinking organizations.

The cost of living has skyrocketed since the pandemic causing employees to expect higher salaries from employers. Thus the key to getting more individuals fully back to work includes offering current and potential employees a better salary package and incorporating a flexible working arrangement that will allow employees to take responsibility for how they work.

The implementation of these key measures will relieve the financial burdens of employees. They’d have more money to clear their bloated bills, take care of themselves and maybe save for retirement. It’d also allow them to either work from home and spend more time with their families or work at the office and enjoy the benefits of working with colleagues on-site.

The different experiences individuals had in dealing with the pandemic caused them to now have a new perspective and understanding that guides them in choosing why and where they work. People want to work for employers that are empathetic and compassionate. Empathy helps make the workplace a place of peace and not a place of war. It reduces the level of hostility and toxicity at the workplace. It gives employees a sense of belonging and reassurance. Empathetic employers are good listeners and very compassionate. They take action to minimize or eliminate inequality in the workplace.

Though people have finally reached a point where they now have a different understanding of work which has caused mass resignation, this reality isn’t going to remain the same for long. However, people are going to avoid terrible organizations for good. Their new and improved understanding of work will continue to guide them in choosing where and why they work. They’d prefer to only take up job positions that align with their new understanding of work.

The one takeaway from the events of the past two years is that there’s no end to learning new things about work and developing new meanings for work. Life would continue to give us reasons to question how and why we work. And the more we try to answer these questions, the more we come up with a new meaning of work.

Since people can’t foretell the kind of life and experience they’d desire in the future, it’s possible Thus it’s that folks that currently prefer remote work, and self-employment would later desire the old normal way of working. All it takes for this to happen is to find a strong reason to abandon the life they now cherish for the one they currently detest.

Work by its definition seems linear but it conveys deeper and different meanings to everyone. It encompasses everything that can give life meaning and direction...But when we approach work one-dimensionally, we fail to see how work connects to every aspect of life. We deny ourselves the opportunity to enjoy other non-monetary benefits of work like personal growth, and quality connections with different individuals. And the absence of these important non-monetary benefits of work can render work a routine toil that yields financial reward and a vacuous feeling of fulfillment to humans.