How the workplace will change after the Coronavirus.
How the workplace will change, is the common question being asked by everyone around the Globe. And they are fearing the change. but they should remember that change is the only constant. Before the corona Virus struck, World seems to be living a normal and happy life, without even going into the future. From the person at the helm of a country to the daily wage earner, everyone seems to be busy in their life, doing really good and contributing to the good of the country and society as a whole, till CORONA VIRUS struck. With the majority of the world struck inside with lockdown, Work dynamics are really going to change the world over. Though the future looks bleak if you want me to be tough and speak the truth. But the truth is also that Mankind has overcome all challenges before it in the past, and this is no exception. Though this is a VERY UNIQUE PROBLEM, facing the world, this problem will be overcome, not before changing the dynamics of the world and the way businesses work. The process has started and the way workplace will change after coronavirus can be put as follows:
1.FOCUS ON DIGITAL MARKETING AND ONLINE PRESENCE.
Though the Boom was there in the last 3-4 years, in the field of Digital marketing, it has gained momentum and will remain in the fast lane for at least another 10 years, because the corona is here to stay for at least 1 year. People have understood the importance of the Digital medium and will abandon traditional means of doing business. Though traditional means will not die, it will play a supportive role to the digital medium and to the local businesses within a limited geographical area like Provision store, vegetable shops, and all vendors and shopkeepers catering to a local neighbourhood.
2. FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS
Post Corona Virus will see the companies working with a flexible working hour plan. Minimum 25% presence will be compulsory going up to 50% presence at one time and full presence required at any point of time during the day or any particular time during the week, with strict conditions laid down for social distancing. Flexible working hours will be the new norm in the Industry. At present, only the IT industry has a flexible working hour system with minimum hours required to be put in by the employee on a daily basis and/or on a weekly basis. The majority of the companies are going to follow this trend, post corona Virus.
3.WORK FROM HOME WILL BE APPLIED
After remaining in lockdown for so long, company management must have found ways to let employees work from home, as per their profile. After things become normal they would not like to disturb the status quo, and would be more than happier to let employees work from home, with better coordination and better facilities.
4.ALL-ROUND SUPPORT FROM THE EMPLOYER.
Employers will look after the employees like a head of the family, a leader and will look upon them as an asset and not a thing to be used and discriminated against. Family culture will return to the workplace, where each and every person will be available for the other in time of personnel as well as official requirements. Employers will look upon the well being of the employee in totality, not just physical, but also mental and spiritual levels. Monetary considerations will also be looked into positively by the employer, and the step has already been taken in that direction, with some of the employers not deducting even a single paisa from the salary of their employees during this Coronavirus lockdown, and have shown their human face to the employees. Now, the employees will also begin to think of the official work as their own and not the one that has been thrust upon them and will look upon ways to improve the efficiency and quality of their work. They will also help them by providing them tools to make their working easy. Bill Gates’s famous quote that he wants to see laptop/desktop will now be practically implemented by each and every employer. I will add Smartphones in that category also. Laptop/ Desktop on every desk and Smartphones in every hand will be a deadly combination to beat and will be a necessity after the Coronavirus.
5.HEALTH AND FITNESS
Employers will also be more interested in the health and fitness of the employee, for he has understood that a healthy and fit employee is an asset to his company rather than a threat to his authority. In the coming years, Health and fitness will be the top priority of each and every employer, because he understands that all human beings has to be treated at all levels of Physical, Spiritual and mental. Employers may also contemplate taking out some time once a week to have some quality fun time with the employees. And even taking a vacation outside once a year with his employees can’t be ruled out.
6. MASS UNEMPLOYMENT
Post Coronavirus, there will be mass unemployment. Corporates will layoff staff, how much they try not to do so. And if they have any social responsibilities left in them, they will definitely recall them, once the things become normal. But the next one-year post coronavirus will be one of the worst in the history of mankind, and it will be the survival of the fittest. So, what do they do who lost their jobs or are finding it difficult to get a job? Companies will be forced to layoff staff because the economy will be hit and there will not be any economic activity worth the name. The companies that need not lay off staff will also do so on the pretext of coronavirus. The middle class and lower class will be the hardest hit. Salary cutoff will be common across all industries. In addition to mass unemployment, there will be mass underemployment also. Underemployment means people will be forced to take lesser jobs than what they are capable of. So what about the majority that is left out. Are they not supposed to survive, or live a decent life. The answer is Yes. And the answer to how it can be achieved is MULTI LEVEL MARKETING or MLM as it is commonly called.
7.MULTI- LEVEL MARKETING(MLM)
Multi-level marketing is a business modal where products are sold to direct customers, straight from the manufacturing company, eliminating middlemen in between like Wholesalers, retailers, shopkeepers, and distributing the profits between the team members. In this time, every country has one or more companies running on a multi-level marketing forum. The trick is to find out which company is genuine and which company is fake and find out the best in that particular country. So, you have to slog for the first 3 years and build up your team and after 3 years life will be very easy for you. One company working in India is Vestige, and it has changed the lives of thousands of people. This is also working in three other countries BANGLADESH, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN, AND UAE. Any person willing to join VESTIGE can leave whattsapp no. and place of residence in the comment box, and will help them with full plan and presentation.
Marketing plan of Vestige is given below.
All pictures courtesy Google search.
Simply by looking at the plan, you can see that it is a very easy plan with 1 year working with a minimum of work and minimum investment. Vestige is an Indian MNC, having a pan India presence and currently working in countries like Bangladesh, UAE, and the Kingdom of Bahrain. Anyone willing to join from these Countries can leave their Name and Whattsapp number in the comment box.
8. Travel will reduce. With more focus on Digital marketing and work from Home, Executives traveling on Corporate duties/assignments will see curtail their travel and would be instead motivated to wor online. Things may be difficult at first, but may eventually be sorted out. Just in the middle of the first LOCKDOWN, India’s FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, HUL as it is commonly called, went ahead with its merger with GlaxoSmithKline or GSK, as it is commonly called. The process was entirely online and everyone involved was logged in and the process was done successfully. If a merger of this level and magnitude could be done online, I don’t see any reason why others can’t follow the path.
9. Increased use of Temporary and Part- time workers.
With tens of millions of workers being laid off, and thousands of others being hired by large delivery firms like Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Domino’s and others into temporary and part-time jobs due to increased demand, as people shift their focus to online product ordering and food delivery because of continuous lock-down and social distancing maintenance. But these jobs will lack job security and will be full of health hazards, as there will be a high possibility of them being infected by Coronavirus. Regular companies will be afraid to add more staff and workers to their regular payroll, when they can do with flexible staff. But the demand from ONLINE DELIVERY ORDER COMPANIES will increase, though that jobs will come with Health hazards and lack of job security.
10. Cafeteria life will change.
Cafeteria’s life is definitely going to change in this COVID 19 times. We won’t see hugely crowded canteens and people talking and mingling freely. Instead,, we are going to see staggered lunchtime, wherein all the employees will be coming in shifts at the time specified to them and following social distancing norms. Employees will be reluctant to use Canteen’s lunch/refrigerator/coffee machines etc because of the fear of being caught the Coronavirus. Bringing lunch boxes and water and other things from home, which were all a thing of the past, will be common now, and keeping a six feet distance will be a must for all at the office canteen.
11. Mandatory 6 feets distance
Instead of the crowded workplace, and employees sitting next to each other, we could see a mandatory six feets distance between the employees. Employees will be required to maintain a safe distance between themselves while working and while speaking. If the employer is far looking person, he may even provide exclusive cabins to the staff having public dealings.
12. Video-conferencing
Staff meetings with 10-12 persons in attendance in the cabin will be a thing of the best. Companies will mostly rely on the teleconferencing and video conferencing to hold meetings, thereby reducing gatherings, maintaining social distancing and reducing travel time of the staff to come and go for such meetings, thereby saving time for the company
13. More disposable income in hand at the same salary.
With millions of people forced to work from home after the coronavirus, they will be saving on the transportation expenses they were incurring while moving to and from their place of residence. And also, they will be saving on their eating out bils. iN THIS WAY, THEY WOULD BE HAVING MORE MONEY IN THEIR HANDS, WHICH THEY CAN USE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THEIR FAMILIES.
14. Expanded Paid sick leaves
Employers will be more than willing to let employees take long sick leaves to recover if found suffering from or having any sign of Coronavirus. And if required will also give an additional 14 days leave after recovering, to remain in quarantine. They can’t risk the lives of others just for one person, and they can’t also let such an experienced person leave the organization, just because of want of leaves. Hence extended sick leaves for the employees.
15. Co-working space will suffer. The culture of coworking will be the most devastated by this coronavirus. Companies will be reluctant to put their employee to risk by allowing them to work with people over whom they have little control. One corona positive case in the whole office and they are done. So, instead of working in a co-working space, companies will instead allow their employees to work from home, thereby making co-working spaces a big casualty in this coronavirus time.
16. Personnel Hygiene will be a Priority. Employer will have to look after the hygiene factors also like keeping the Bathrooms clean, see that employees don’t spit, providing INDIVIDUAL Sanitizer bottle to each and every employee, Keeping the workplace sanitized and all other factors that will help the employees maintain personal hygiene and increase there immunity.
Bill Gates has once famously said that HE WANTED TO SEE ONE COMPUTER ON EVERY DESK, AND WITH EVERY PERSON. Now with the whole world in the lockdown and work from home becoming the norm of the day, Computers/Laptops will see a rise in their demand and we all should be ready with laptops/Computer for ourselves. And Amazon has got a very good range of it on its platform which can be had from the following link:
Laptops done, One more thing I would like to add to what Bill Gates has said. Apart from Computers, one more thing I would like to have with every person is the android smartphone. Having a Laptop and mobile with oneself, a person is complete and in himself a complete working space and an encyclopedia. Amazon has also got on its platform a full mobile range to cater to your needs. You can order your mobile from Amazon from the following link.
How the workplace will change after the coronavirus.