The biggest lesson COVID-19 taught employers and employees alike is that work-life integration is possible. Being forced to work remotely from home thanks to the internet allowed many employees more time to do the things they enjoyed instead of battling traffic every day. “The realisation that remote work is possible has by far been the best positive outcome of the pandemic,” asserts Palesa Ntoagae, Old Mutual Insure Human Capital Executive.

She says remote work has accelerated digital transformation which assists in driving efficiency. “It’s improved the size of the talent pool that’s available, locally and globally, and it’s highlighted the importance of mental health.” In response, more companies are prioritising their staff’s wellbeing and putting the right support mechanisms in place.

Time to go back to the office?

Despite these benefits, there’s a feeling among many organisations that productivity has dropped due to remote-working arrangements and that it’s better for employees to return back to the office. “A building without people is exactly that, a building,” comments Ntoagae. “But the culture and informal ways of work are experienced when there are people in it.”

She believes it’s imperative for new recruits to experience the culture of a company and for leaders to set the tone in driving the right behaviours. “You can’t do this via a computer screen,” she says. “So much learning happens in the unscheduled moments – the so-called water-cooler conversations.”

Ntoagae maintains that by having employees together in the office, organisational problems are resolved faster and junior employees are trained quicker. “We need to bring back some of the practices that allowed people to connect and co-create solutions to complex problems – and you won’t be able to do that effectively through an MS Teams meeting.”

Enhancing the value proposition for employees

At the same time, employers need to be cognisant that in order to retain talent, their value proposition needs to be compelling. “Before the pandemic, the focus on building employee value proposition was typically presented as monetary benefits,” she explains. “The non-monetary aspects, such as mental health or employee well-being, were considered fluffy or soft.”

However, Ntoagae believes that these soft aspects of organisations’ value proposition have now become hard measures. “They are the new superior benefits that really matter. The way companies responded to the well-being of their employees during the pandemic highlighted the great employers from those who weren’t.”

Adapt or lose relevance

But she points out that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid working and keeping employees happy. “The ideal way of working is not homogenous,” she states. “Companies must embark on practices that work for them as a business and for employees.  A consultative approach is required because talent has access to global employers.”

Moreover, employees will need to stay nimble to keep pace with changing technology. According to a 2023 report by the   Global Institute, one in 16 workers in eight major economies, including China, the US and Germany, will need to switch occupations by 2030. This amounts to 100 million workers worldwide, mainly those with middle to low skills. “The rise of automation and artificial intelligence could contribute to significant job losses unless the rate of reskilling can keep up with the evolving nature of work,” comments Ntoagae.

Nevertheless, she remains optimistic about the future. “These are exciting times for the human capital fraternity to rise up and lead alongside business leaders. I think it’s important to remain flexible,” she concludes. “Today’s youth have very different ideals about where and how work should take place. We must stay open-minded.”