Image: Sharon Parker, CEPAR Chief Investigator, ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of Organisational Behavior at Curtin University
By Sharon Parker
In our Mature Workers In Organisations study that we conducted last year, we found that almost one third of respondents have previously had an application for flexible working refused, showing that the acceptance of this practice was far from widespread.
Yet now, due to COVID-19, large numbers of us are intensively working from home.
How are workers adjusting to this ‘new normal’?
This is an important question for two reasons. First, those of us who can work at home need to be as productive as possible given the fragile state of our economy.
Second, we need to look after our collective wellbeing. Before COVID-19, mental health was a big issue, with one in five Australians experiencing difficulties. Now there is even more uncertainty in our lives. We need to find ways to work at home that don’t add to already high stress levels.
To support people working from home and their managers, my Centre for Transformative Work Design has created a series of evidence-based videos and blogs, covering the following topics:
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How to Set Up Your Team for Success During COVID-19… As a manager: provide support, discuss how to work together as a team, and don’t forget the big picture.
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Be Kind to Yourself: Self-Compassion in Difficult Times… In the midst of uncertainty and stress, don’t avoid your emotions, be kind to yourself, and don’t judge yourself too harshly.
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To Dress or Not to Dress: Getting into a Work Mindset… Address the lack of structure in the day by getting dressed and other such boundary-management strategies.
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High Quality Connection (And We’re Not Talking About the Internet)… Build high quality connections via respectful engagement and task-enabling behaviours.
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Tethered or Trusted: The “There’s No Excuse Not to Be At Your Desk” Phenomenon… Convey to your workers that you trust them, give as much autonomy as suits the situation, and focus on ‘results’.
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Switching Off: Recovering After A Long Day At The Desk… Replenish the energy and resources you have used at work through effective recovery activities.
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I’m Bored!": How To Make Your Work More Stimulating… Craft your job to make it more challenging and meaningful if you are underloaded in your current situation.
We are also launching new global research on this topic, which is vital because those currently working from home are doing so more extensively and in more challenging circumstances than traditional remote workers. The research involves multiple surveys over the next several months, tracking how people feel about their work, their wellbeing, their performance, and more. It would be wonderful if you or some of your colleagues were able to participate!
Although many people’s efforts to work from home right now are challenging, I am convinced the current situation will lead to a sustained shift in how we work. This is because we will all be set up to work at home, we will be skilled and confident in our use of virtual technology, and managers will learn that people can be trusted to work at home if they are supported to do so.
So whilst I don’t expect we will ever see the complete eradication of the office (nor would we want that), I do think this time marks the beginning of a new work era in which many more of us will regularly work from home. All the more reason we need to do so in a healthy and productive way.