Three new work policies after Covid that will change the way we work forever.

After the first lockdown, several curfews and many many PCR tests later, has our workplace culture really changed the way we thought it would? Let’s find out!

Never in a million years did I think I’d be writing a follow-up article after almost 2 years of a strange new reality. But here we go, and oh man, things changed!

What we know now is that Covid isn’t going anywhere, unfortunately. We are all noticing that countries dealt with the situation differently, taking different measures, but many companies do have one thing in common: giving the employee the opportunity to either work from home, work from the office or combine the two. Happy me! I don’t know how I would have managed working from home all the time…

Almost two years ago, we had to go home, indefinitely, and we had to adjust the way we lived and worked.

Since then, many companies have revisited and optimized their real estate offices. Look at Fullsix, the leading digital agency in Portugal and Europe. They said goodbye to their enormous office and moved into a smaller, flexible office located in central Lisbon. They are giving their employees the opportunity to either stay working from home or to come to the office a few days here and there. Other companies have decided to work in shifts and can therefore share offices with other companies.

Across every company, you can see that there are health and safety measures put in place that will hardly disappear in the next few years: extra cleaning is being provided, employees are asked to mask up when walking around in common areas, disinfectant gel is being distributed throughout the office. All of these are efforts to create a safe environment and to make people feel comfortable when working at the office.

And then you have LinkedIn, based in California. They are one of the big tech companies that is offering their employees a hybrid option of working, with a fully remote option available. So far, it seems that Covid has definitely killed off office life as we knew it.

We now know already what has changed for so many companies while we are still dealing with the pandemic. But what things will stay for good?

Remote hiring

Did you ever hope to work for a Swedish company, based in Turkey? Well, it’s happening now and will possibly stay forever! We’re seeing companies hire their teams from across the globe. Besides the fact that it’s much cheaper for companies and provides new opportunities for locals, companies are now able to recruit talent from wherever, and they don’t necessarily have to struggle finding a great fit for a job due to logistic barriers. This pandemic made companies realize that having a team scattered around the globe is possible and people adjusted just fine to this new reality.

Flexible offices

Fullsix in Portugal is one example of many companies changing to flexible offices, permanently. Downsizing offices will save companies a lot of money, and gives people the opportunity to work from home in a more hybrid way. It also allows us to have a different relationship with the working environment itself by making it more enjoyable and less office-like, trying to mimic the environments we have in our own houses.

Hybrid work

Working fulltime from home isn’t for everyone. However, as this is becoming more permanent, it does give many of us the opportunity to enjoy our way of living in a completely different way. Think about parents: they lose less time commuting, it’s easier to pick up the kids from school, and the daily routine is more seamless without having to get stuck on public transportation or traffic. And being able to work in comfortable pajamas that’s definitely one of the best perks ever! I know for a fact, that many Unbabelers are very happy, that they’ve been given the opportunity to either be home based or office based. Meaning that you either come to the office a minimum of one day per week (home based) or minimum three days per week (office based).

These three permanent changes will definitely change the way we work forever. It brings a lot of good things to our lives, but it also requires more discipline to balance our work and private life. Nobody wants to be reading emails around midnight, and having the feeling that there’s not much going on, besides working, sleeping and preparing meals.

Defining schedules, staying true to a healthy routine, exercise, and being aware of our own needs helps a lot in this new changing world.