Managing the return to the office post-COVID19

Two months of self-isolation have created an extraordinary opportunity for deep reflection on what matters to people. Many of us are searching for ways to retain what we enjoyed about this time - the less harried pace, less traffic, more time with family, walks in the park. Returning to the old routines of ironing shirts, putting on makeup, schlepping into the office and being back in the corporate grind fills many of us with dread.  

The shared experience of a pandemic and the economic havoc it has unleashed has also created new levels of personal connection and understanding. This is a once in a generation moment for organisations to work with their people and capture what has been great and address what hasn’t.  

At the same time, the world just got a whole lot more complex and uncertain. The problems to solve are bigger and more pressing, and the opportunities are potentially greater.  

Some of the challenges we’re working with clients on include stress and burnout, communication breakdowns, and how to conceive and manage a permanent partially distributed workforce.  

In this white paper, we share how we need to get better at having conversations with ourselves and others to solve these issues. Our wellbeing, team cohesion and effectiveness depends on it. As with all of our work, we focus on working from the inside out by seeing how we show up and why before we can change our behaviours.

I’d love to hear how your organisations are thinking about life, work and teams in the post-COVID19 world. And hope this paper shares some useful insights.