A Workplace Paradigm Shift

One thing this last year has taught us is that we can never take for granted the conventions and norms that have dominated our lives for so long. One area of our society that has been completely turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic is business and work. Where once we saw ‘going to work’ as a fundamental part of our lives, we are now seeking new ways to avoid the workplace for our own safety.

The pandemic has completely changed the way we work. Experts like Katheryn Vasel over at CNN business have identified some key changes that have occurred concurrently with this world public health disaster. Changes in workplace flexibility, communication, monitoring and even the very definition of the workplace have taken place due to necessity. There is a widespread belief that this is a paradigm shift – that even after the pandemic subsides our attitudes towards the workplace will have changed permanently.

Businesses struggling to adapt to this new world have been turning to 3^rd party IT companies like Datacube for support and consultation as they make the shift towards a COVID-safe operational strategy.

What Is a Workplace?

In this new hyperconnected era, the definition of a workplace has changed beyond recognition. No longer do employees need to sit in offices or cubicles in order to collaborate productively. Instead, the modern workplace is undeniably flexible and increasingly remote.

The fact is that important tasks that used to require an office space – such as email, meetings and project monitoring – can now be undertaken from the palm of an employee’s hand. Mobile telephones and laptop computers are powerful tools in the modern networked workplace.

Video conferencing technology has completely changed the way in which we might define what a workspace is. With tools like Zoom, productivity and collaborative activity is possible anywhere in the world.

Security Issues

This does lead to a significant problem: security. Personal WiFi, public cloud hosting servers and insecure email systems all have the potential to be compromised by cyber criminals. Businesses have been scrambling to implement new security measures that can keep them safe while allowing their employees to work from home.

There are some ingenious solutions emerging in the IT security industry. VPNs, private cloud servers and strict rules on secure WiFi are all interim measures being widely adopted.

Morale and Team Spirit

With remote learning being the new normal, companies are struggling to maintain the morale and team spirit that they had carefully crafted as part of their corporate cultures during more stable times. Many experts in workplace behavior and psychology point towards growing numbers of people suffering from depression whilst away from the social space of the office. Workplace administrators have not been able to create a comprehensive way of addressing this wholesale. It seems control is out of the administrator’s hands more than ever. We are entering a new age of workplace interpersonal relationships, and safeguarding systems will need to be developed sharply if productivity and happiness is to ever be associated with the virtual office.