Redefining the Future of Work

The world of work is a constantly evolving and changing space, reacting to diverse stimuli and influences, with business owners and managers striving to direct their organizations to be as efficient and productive as possible.

Adding to this volatility, the year 2019 has seen the largest wave of organizational and workplace disruption in decades: the emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To respond to the difficulties and constraints created by the virus, companies and organizations were forced to adapt to new work methodologies and technologies, with telecommuting being the most emblematic of these measures.

Although it brought difficulties, this disruption was also the catalyst for several companies to make a qualitative and quantitative leap in the way they approach the labor market and its agents, seeking new forms of internal organization that could respond to the emerging needs and habits that arose during the last 2 years of adaptation to the pandemic.

Given the importance of this topic, Diggspace organized a Webinar in which valuable insights were shared by two speakers from very different areas, who also faced similar challenges, bringing with them a unique vision of this new organizational world that we now face.

Our main lessons learned were:

Genuine transformation is essential for success.

The search for transformation must be constant, but without ever forgetting the employees. It doesn't matter whether the company is conservative or not, the potential for change will always be within reach, provided that there is openness to it.

Industry 4.0 will not eliminate jobs.

The complementarity between technology and human beings is a positive factor that will change the reality of the labor market. While robots and automatons may be better than humans at performing calculations and computing tasks, the human element, such as empathy, the ability to create consensus, and personal experiences, are the elements that enable companies to make decisions. This cannot be replaced by a machine.

There is no "One Size Fits All" approach.

All employees are unique and have their own personalities, characteristics, ambitions, difficulties, and strengths. One of the great challenges in business is to balance universal, fair, and equitable policies with the uniqueness of each employee, their work preferences, and their reactions to the company's initiatives.

Leadership by example is crucial.

Leadership must earn people's respect, not through a policy of subordination and obedience, but through daily examples that inspire employees. In change processes, it is necessary to reassure people, showing them that change is healthy and that stagnation is dangerous for the entire company. It is necessary to nurture them, provide them with the conditions to learn new skills, and offer training, coaching, and other methodologies that allow them to evolve.

To inspire, you need to know.

To understand the true character of an employee, you need to challenge them and expose them to methodologies or ways of working that they may not know or haven't had the opportunity to try yet. It is important to get to know the employee beyond their 9am to 5pm schedule, find out their drivers, interests, show empathy, and give them space to talk and share their desires.

Culture is crucial.

No matter how motivated and ambitious leaders may be, when implementing new ways of managing and adopting emerging communication and collaboration technologies, it is crucial to instill a culture of openness, curiosity, and innovation in the teams. Otherwise, the existing culture may tend to reject the most disruptive initiatives. Technology must support culture, not the other way around, and culture must evolve according to the organization's strategy and the needs of its people.

The future of work is a balance.

The next trends show that online has not done away with the physical element in retail or in the workspace, but rather has given leaders, employees, and customers more options. The future of work will be found when the balance between remote work, people's quality of life and comfort, and organizational efficiency is achieved, something that has been intensifying over the last few years. For example, already today, the younger generations are often unwilling to work if the proposal is anything other than full-remote, even rejecting proposals that do not allow remote and/or hybrid work.

According to Sérgio Martinho, Chief Information Officer at Lusitania, "We need fewer bosses and more leaders. The most important thing is to create a spirit where people are not afraid to fail. To err is normal, it's human, and only those who don't work, don't fail."

Erich Brodheim, Vice President of People & Technology at the Brodheim Group, believes that "It is not easy to create in all areas a mechanism of working by objective but we are trying to go deep into this, although there are areas where this is easier than others. Our CEO says something very nice: it's not work-life balance, it's life-balance, and everyone has their own life, although it's difficult to regulate this by impositions or by wills. Basically, we try to do the best, with good sense."

We are in an evolving stage of the labor market where technology is a great lever that allows companies to adapt to the times as fast as ours. It is increasingly imperative to have a digital single point where everyone can meet, gather information, share ideas, and interact, creating proximity, involvement, and a sense of belonging, wherever everyone is, regardless of their work model.