For over a year now, the health crisis has been shaking up our relationship with the workplace, creating an unprecedented distance. Embodied, in particular, by the rise of telecommuting, a "remote culture" is emerging that is having a lasting impact on corporate practices. From the reconfiguration of offices to the rise of "trusting" management, here's an overview of the trends that are shaping the future of work, with its emphasis on fluidity and resilience.
The change was sudden and unexpected. Following on from the frenzy of the "world before", characterized by hyper-mobility (business travel, tourism and expatriation at all costs), the Covid-19 pandemic caused an abrupt slowdown in the incessant flow of goods and people that had previously fed the economy. Today, the trend is towards distancing and even isolation. And this model could endure, even if in a more attenuated form, as we emerge from the health crisis. The case of telecommuting speaks for itself: according to a ESSEC survey survey conducted in September 2020, nearly three-quarters of French employees would like to continue working remotely in a post-Covid world, preferably for two days a week.
The future of work: hybrid workplaces and virtual proximity
Will the pandemic spell the end of the office as we know it? One thing is certain: the way we use them will never be the same again. According to the ESSEC survey, employees want their physical premises to be above all a "place for meeting, exchanging and socializing", rather than a "place for concentrating production". The office will become just another workspace, alongside the home (increasingly well-equipped thanks to furniture rental services such as Fleex and Buroflex) and local offices. According to Nathanaël Mathieu, co-founder of Néo-nomade (a coworking space booking platform), "we're moving towards smaller head offices, often with unallocated offices (flex office) that can be supplemented by satellite offices and on-demand coworking spaces under the 'workplace as a service' concept."
"We're moving from home telecommuting to telecommuting in third places, and discoveringother induced effects: the community of coworkers constantly exchanging practices creates value," remarks Bertrand Dalle, founder of the Conseil & Recherche agency. In his view,workspaces will increasingly be conceived as "an assembly of places adapted to the different activities that make up each mission, each project and, above all, each individual ". A more fluid way of organizing work, conducive to " multiple, spatially-distributed modes of collaboration" that effortlessly blend in-house collaborators and freelancers.
Collaborative tools, which bridge the distance between people, are also set to evolve to promote "virtual proximity". The start-up Topia has developed a more sociable alternative to Zoom or Teams, gamifying exchanges between colleagues via avatars in a customizable virtual office. As for Spatialoffers a glimpse into the future of remote working with its 3D teleconferencing system, which can also be accessed via a simple computer or smartphone.
A better understanding of psychological health
In the midst of all this upheaval, the mental health of French employees has taken a hit. According to the latest barometer by Empreinte humaine in April 2021, 20% of them are even in a situation of "high distress". It's hard for companies today to ignore this issue: " Being remote has forced many managers to be closer to their teams in terms of their state of health and psychological well-being," analyzes Nathanaël Mathieu. During the pandemic, their role as team leaders was strengthened. This will undoubtedly bring about change in a profession that has been undermined by the health crisis.
Digital tools (Peakon, gPulse, Wittyfit...) are being developed to improve the monitoring of employees' feelings and moods. Frequent feedback is provided to assess job satisfaction and stress levels, and thus assist managers in their day-to-day work. Tomorrow, these listening systems could be managed by algorithms, according to Virginie Rio-Jeanne, manager at the consulting firm Willing: " Thanks to the analysis of facial microexpressions, posture, words and written messages, AI may be able to detect signals of employee disengagement and demobilization ", she wrote in Harvard Business Review in 2019.
Resilience and the culture of "positive failure
Supporting teams is essential to developing individual and collective resilience in the workplace. " If employees feel supported, they will face trauma with more courage, because they know that management will help them ", asserted Boris Cyrulnik, the father of "resilience", in Capital in autumn 2020. Faced with an uncertain future - Covid and post-Covid - this ability to overcome trials and adapt seems crucial in the world of work. In this "bounce back" culture, failures are not necessarily viewed negatively. At BlaBlaCar, they are even seen as a source of learning that encourages boldness and innovation, provided they are analyzed and the lessons learned shared. The same philosophy applies at Sony Music France, where a "failure bonus" has been introduced. " We have included an annual failure in the bonus of our top managers, which must be recognized and communicated to their teams", explains Claude Monnier, the company's HR Director.
These practices are only possible in a climate of trust. In contrast to the culture of surveillance that software such as Hubstaff which track activity and working hours, companies have every interest in implementing a work organization that encourages employees to take joint responsibility, generating creativity and commitment. Some companies have understood this and are experimenting with daring practices in this direction. In Finland, the consulting firm Futurice has decided to give all its employees a company bank card, as well as the company's social networking codes, so that they can share, without control, any posts, articles or videos they deem relevant. This is just one of a number of innovations that offer hope for the working world of the future.
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