This past year has tested every facet of our lives — our health, ingenuity, resilience, routines and, quite frankly, our patience. It’s challenged businesses in a way like never before, and many have struggled to adapt to this drastically different world.
While it is easy to see the many hurdles this year has placed in our way, it’s important to find the many less-seen lessons that 2020 has taught. There have also been distinct silver linings that have shone through the many layers of challenge and uncertainty.
The rise of technology
The spread of COVID-19 forced most businesses to unexpectedly close their doors, resulting in millions of Americans having to convert their homes into remote workspaces. More than ever before, companies have moved to remote platforms while employees and their families stay home to safely work and learn. This was not a choice; it was an undeniable necessity that required businesses to adopt new technologies at an accelerated rate in order to survive.
COVID packed several decades of change into a few short months — inciting a surprisingly positive impact on quality of life and our environment. The concept of work as a “place” has been forever altered. Remote communication tools have become a new norm, opening the door to widespread interaction across multiple departments and locations without the need to commute or find large enough meeting space. Those who didn’t trust a distributed workforce to perform well before the pandemic had no choice but to put trust in their employees, marking a shift in attitude that will be forever changed.
Hidden streams of capital
Without a need for physical office space, capital previously reserved for rent and utilities can be redirected to advancement and innovation. Companies that once had elaborate campuses with on-site perks like stocked kitchens and gyms suddenly found themselves with a surplus of funds to allocate toward technology, research, and learning and development. While some businesses have moved back toward an on-site work model, many have chosen to maintain the remote work option to embrace this new strategy.
Deeper relationships
In the professional service industry, our relationships with clients have been traditionally just that — professional. As a whole, the industry has relied heavily on image and a certain level of separation from the reality of our personal lives. However, that relationship has radically transformed now that our clients have seen us at home with children and pets in the background. On the flip side, we are now seeing our clients in the comfort of their homes and gaining more meaningful insight into the world they live in. To a large extent, this has humanized relationships that were perhaps more “transactional” before the pandemic.
Although marked by trial and hardship, this year has also encouraged more profound communication surrounding mental health and wellbeing. People, and even strangers, are having more thoughtful conversations about the collective struggles we face on a daily basis. While this may not be the situation we thought we would find ourselves in a year ago, it is a situation that we are all living in together.
A level playing field
The leap to remote working has leveled the playing field when it comes to opportunity and growth. For example, there is no more advantage to having a desk directly outside the manager’s office. Likewise, there is no disadvantage to having the unfunctional desk in the corner where the sunlight never hits.
Without a physical workspace, every employee gained an equal opportunity to thrive and succeed on their own merit. Access to leaders and management has never been more attainable, and we are seeing an increase in employee’s eagerness to connect. Eliminating the physical office space eliminated the barriers that kept people segregated, allowing equal access to communication with both peers and leaders.
Expect the unexpected
“Unprecedented” has become quite the buzzword this year — and for a good reason. It’s hard to find an appropriate word to capture the endless twists and turns that have left us dizzy with confusion and disorientation. From sudden lockdowns, rapid procedural shifts, regrettable layoffs and ceaseless regulations, one thing has remained constant — expect the unexpected.
Virtually every person and business has been tested to new extremes. This new normal, albeit exhausting, has unleashed a new generation of people armed with resilience and versatility. No one knows where this next chapter will lead, but I hope that the silver linings will continue to brighten. After all, with great challenge comes great opportunity.
