Flexible work, the new normal, should spur, not hamper, productivity

THE Covid-19 pandemic is creating the biggest workforce experiment in modern history, as employees have shifted from corporate offices to working from home.

Companies need to rethink their work design, from their technology, data and cloud infrastructure to employee and customer interfaces, as they are forced to adopt a work-from-home culture.

Increasingly, those in management are accountable for not just the bottomline, but also for "mission tasks" such as product delivery and revenue-generating innovations. Demand for flexible working is a great opportunity to cut employment costs, reorganise and retain skilled workers, and overall, make work processes more efficient and create a leaner workforce.