The future of work in 2021: what’s your vision?

It took just one day to change the way we work, forever.

2020’s global pandemic shut down the world one office at a time, forcing us into new and uncharted territories. Some of us lost our jobs, some of us gained new roles, and all of us had to find ways to work from home. So as we move into a new year filled with new opportunities to shape our work lives, what’s YOUR vision for 2021?

I’ve been reading article after article discussing the brave new world of office-free companies, three-day work weeks, and remote events. New Yorker magazine asked, Has the Pandemic Transformed the Office Forever?, while Forbes set about Finding Answers To The Future Of Remote And Office Work. For most of these think-pieces, the question was simple: do the pros of a new system outweigh the cons?

In his piece for Forbes, Ken Ashley recognised the benefits of our new, remote work environments (no commute, no commercial overheads) but was pragmatic about the reality of the home office situation. Remember March of this year (2020) was an evacuation, and just because people are figuring out remote work doesn’t mean it is really working for everyone all the time, wrote Ken.�How many lawn crews, hungry kids and inappropriately dressed partners have you experienced in your hundreds of video meetings? Thank you, 2020.

He has a point. Remote working was great, but imperfect. Parents and carers suffered far more than younger workers, and unprepared companies struggled to provide sufficient support. My colleagues in America and the UK — still very much in the grips of the pandemic — tell me about months and months on end without leaving the house for anything other than food shopping or exercise. We are incredibly lucky to have the freedom we do here in Australia, where offices are starting to reopen. 

And as they do tentatively welcome back employees, new arrangements are on offer. In my circle alone, I’ve heard of some people being offered a home/office combination (three days on, two days off), while others are being given the option of coming in at all. With the virus still circulating, many of these choices come down to risk management and the comfort of employees, rather than new systems. But as many of us face the choice to go back into the office, we start to question the role of that space at all.

John Seabrook explores this thought in the New Yorker.�The pandemic has collapsed divergent trends into an existential question: What’s an office for? Is it a place for newbies to learn from experienced colleagues? A way for bosses to oversee shirkers? A platform for collaboration? A source of friends and social life? A respite from the family? A reason to leave the house? It turns out that work, which is what the office was supposed to be for, is possible to do from somewhere else.�

As a business owner, working alone and remotely is second nature to me. But I understand the loneliness and isolation that comes from living and working in the same space, every day. Over the years I’ve had to become strict in the delineation of home space, and work space, as well as a clear schedule that doesn’t overlap. These, and other tools, will become important to all of you who are starting 2021 in home-work environments.�

Even as I fill new roles for clients now I am seeing new and unusual work arrangements on offer. Never before has remote working been embraced with such gusto (and trust!) — and I am buoyed by the willingness of Australia’s business owners to bend and flow with the new world that’s emerged because of the pandemic. I sincerely hope that we see this continued on, well after the danger is over.

What is YOUR vision for work in 2021?

~Garth Kharitou.