How business leaders can continue to reap the benefits of new world of work

EVER since the Covid-19 pandemic hit our shores in early March, remote working arrangements have replaced the routine of a 9-to-6 office job with an "always-on" home office. With a myriad of communications tools, our colleagues, managers and clients are often a message or call away, and it has become harder to draw the line between personal time and work time. Many of us can attest to how this "always-on" approach has led to working longer hours as we have more virtual meetings to compensate for the lack of face time in the office, and find it difficult to call for a hard-stop to work and meetings.

A recent study by the Harvard Business School found the average workday increased by 8.2 per cent - or 48.5 minutes - during the pandemic's early weeks. During this period, employees sent 5.2 per cent more emails a day, and about 8.3 per cent more emails were sent after business hours. There's no doubt that this "always-on" culture takes a toll our health and well-being, due to the lack of rest and additional stress, and can have a lasting impact on the individual as well as the business. In fact, the Ministry of Manpower has just recently advised businesses to be more aware of how the changing working arrangements can take a toll on employees' mental well-being, and how to support employees during this time.

And yet, these new working arrangements aren't all that bad - many business leaders, myself included, have seen how these changes have brought greater collaboration and communication into the workplace, which can feed into a productive and close-knit team.

Building an always-resilient workforce

These merits, alongside a growing preference for flexible working arrangements, have also forced many organisations towards a permanent change beyond the pandemic. UOB's employees now have the choice to work remotely twice a week, while Fujitsu Japan is introducing a permanent remote working arrangement - and other companies are similarly factoring these needs and preferences into future plans.

In this dilemma, how can business leaders continue to reap the benefits of this new world of work, while ensuring that employees are protected from the common pitfalls of overwork or burnout?

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Over the past few months, we have found that business leaders are shifting their focus from harnessing the energy of an "always-on" workforce, to leading an "always-resilient" workforce, such that the benefits and strengths are capitalised and carried into future working arrangements in a sustainable manner.

As a health and security services company, the majority of this year has been spent advising our clients on protecting their workforce and business operations against the impact of the pandemic. In all our work across industries - including technology, offshore, healthcare and hospitality - and working arrangements, one thing stood out: regardless of the working arrangements chosen, businesses that prioritise the health and well-being of employees create a more enriching work environment, build a more resilient workforce and drive better productivity.

Research has proven that most individuals tend to thrive when they are in good mental and physical health, and feel emotionally supported. A healthy employee is less likely to suffer from illness, takes fewer days of sick leave, and able to better manage stress. The confluence of these positive emotions, which can be created across any working arrangement, provides the foundation for a resilient attitude and empowers the employee to easily bounce back from setbacks and challenges.

Therefore, as management, we strive to ensure that while the workforce might be working in a different environment or for much longer hours, they are not pressured by "always-on" mindset, but instead have the resilience to adapt to changing situations, stay positive and work productively with the rest of the team.

Organisations that are serious in building a resilience workforce may start with developing a robust and flexible business continuity plan, based on verified situational intelligence and tailored to the needs at each of their sites and offices in various countries which helps ensure that managers have a clear response to any situation.

During such times, employees should also have 24/7 access to verified and timely information, advice and assistance on the evolving Covid-19 situation or other health and security risks, to minimise anxiety from fear or lack of information.

This pandemic has also demonstrated the importance and accelerated the adoption of digital tools that encourages regular communications and collaborations amongst employees, and build closer bonds within teams. Leveraging such tools to promote bonding activities helps to bridge physical distance, while fostering a culture where employees feel their well-being is a key priority and they have a safe space to seek help and support. Managers could also use these tools to check in regularly with employees, show appreciation, and offer assistance when needed. With clear communications, we can provide certainty, clarity and effect positive change in workplace culture.

Finally, prioritising mental well-being and promoting mentally healthy practices is critical. Training and equipping employees who are selected to be organisation's health ambassadors with the right skills to identify colleagues that need support will help prevent matters becoming more serious. If this is hard to implement internally, businesses can engage partners who have the network and expertise to provide emotional support and counselling services anytime, anywhere. These can include a remote counselling service that employees can turn to, a 24/7 Telehealth service for any health and security concerns employees may have, as well as mental health training webinars, strategy and assessments.

Leading from the front

During a crisis, many business leaders tend to gravitate towards a problem-solving mode, which is often adapting business models to protect the financial health of the organisation. While this is crucial, the past few months have shown that spending time building a positive workplace culture is equally critical to workforce resilience, and often goes hand in hand with securing the organisation's financial position.

Many of our strategies in building resilience support key managers to acknowledge and address the impact on their employees, place emphasis on preparing employees for layered threat environments and help them to feel supported and productive wherever they might be. While businesses are unable to create a physical working environment or office space for all employees to work from, an overall culture of positivity and support is ever more critical for the business to thrive, no matter the challenges and economic landscape.

As business leaders, leading this change sets the tone for the organisation. Take the first step to ensure employees are aware that their employers are invested in their health, security and well-being by communicating the organisation's goals and expectations transparently and positively - this will bring long-term sustainable outcomes to the organisation.

Regardless of whether one is a domestic employee working from home or the office, a frequent business traveller, an international assignee or an on-site worker, a holistic approach to workforce resilience will help employees embrace an "always-resilient" ethos, rather than feel obliged to maintain an "always-on" lifestyle. Resilience fosters a productive and healthy attitude for work, and helps employees keep an open and agile mindset.

The new world of work

Even with Covid-19 vaccines on the horizon, we have not reached the peak of the pandemic curve globally. It is unclear how and when this will be over, or how it will affect the idea of a physical office. What's certain is that the new world of work will require resilience, agility and trust.

One of the complexities that we must learn to manage right now is the development of this "always on" mindset at work, and how we can shift it to an "always-resilient workforce" where employees can thrive.

With small initiatives and practices that support employees both emotionally and mentally, as well as through safe workplace design and team collaboration technologies, organisations can foster a positive culture that values and invests in the health and well-being of all their employees to build morale, and drive productivity and overall business resilience throughout this pandemic and beyond.