How Working From Home Has Changed Expectations of Employees
The pandemic forced almost all office workers to work from home. As WFH has become the norm, the expectations of employees around how and where they can work have changed. This means we should expect a shift in the work-from-home trend after the worst of the crisis has passed.
Furthermore, the crisis taught leaders that most employees are highly resilient, even in some of the most unexpected situations. However, their resilience has been challenged by their attempt to follow all rules, systems, and processes that companies put in place to ensure a high-efficiency level. While rules are needed, should organizations focus on those that support their employees, their culture, and their workplace instead of just sticking to rules for the sake of tradition? What are the benefits and risks of doing this?
In HRchat episode 256, we consider data that shows how working from home has changed the expectations of employees, the evolving role of managers, and the rules we actually need to stick to while working from home.
My guest this time is Brian Kropp, Group Vice President and Chief of HR Research at Gartner Research, Inc. He heads all business activities that support the human resources division and its leadership teams. Brian works with Gartner Research leadership to develop strategic plans that attract, develop, and retains top talent.
After we’re through the worst of the pandemic, says Brian, “28% (of employees) will work from home part of the time, and about half of the workforce will work in a traditional office environment“.
Brian also spoke about how Gartner’s recent comprehensive analysis of the evolution of job postings shows that the number of skills required on a resume has increased by almost 40% in the last five years. Yet around half of those skills are no longer found in a job description. He jumps into ways this could decrease our ability to predict which skills will be in demand in the next 5-10 years.
Listen to the HRchat with Brian Kropp and discover:
- How has the mindset of leaders towards remote working changed as a result of the pandemic?
- What proportion of employees will continue to work from home post-Covid?
- Are employees really as productive at home as they are in an office?
- How are firms measuring WFH productivity and what do Gartner’s findings suggest?
- Are there security issues related to working from home and how can companies minimize risks?
- Why Brian believes the role of the manager will shift from measuring and monitoring the performance of their employees, and tracking the work of their employees, to being much more of a ‘connector’ for their employees – socially, emotionally, to the broader organization, and to their broader careers?
- What are the skills needed to perform roles in the longer term?
More about Brian Kropp
In 2020, Brian was voted one of the Top 100 Human Resource Technology Influencers. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Clemson University and his doctorate from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Brian has authored dozens of articles at Gartner Research, led 100s of strategy sessions with executive teams from Fortune 100 companies and directed 300-plus executive education sessions across the globe.
He is a frequent contributor to CNN, The Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and other top business and media publications.