[Article] This is the Moment: Confronting Reentry Challenges

This is the Moment: Confronting Reentry Challenges

By Dinesh Malkani, FMJ Magazine, September/October 2021 Edition

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated workplace initiatives to address a dispersed workforce and boost digital transformation. Organizations are rethinking traditional work models and reimagining their workplace strategy with a focus on safety and social distancing, operational flexibility, cost reduction and enhanced employee experience as they attempt to balance working from the office and working remotely.

A 2020 survey by CoreNet Global and Cushman & Wakefield indicated that in pre-COVID-19 times, most companies followed an office-fi first approach, and less than a third operated in a hybrid model. In a post-COVID-19 world, remote-first models are predicted to be just as prevalent as office-first models, while hybrid models could more than double.

And according to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index annual report for 2021, 73 percent of the respondents expressed a desire for flexible remote work options post-pandemic, and 66 percent were contemplating revamping their offices to accommodate hybrid work environments.

With vaccination deployment underway, many organizations are reopening their offices. However, workers in many industries can expect their offices to be radically different from the ones they left in March 2020. Safety will be the bedrock of the post-pandemic workplace, set to be organized around a culture of flexible and hybrid work. Organizations must rise to meet the challenges that come with this transformation.

Read Full Article, Pages 87-90