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Wundamail Voices: The Future of Work with Meg Jerrard

July 14, 2020

Workplace Culture, Wundamail Voices

In today's edition of Wundamail Voices, we caught up with Australian journalist, and founder and senior editor of Mappingmegan.com, Megan Jerrard, to get the longterm remote worker insight into the "new normal".
 

What Do You Think The Future of Work Looks Like Post-crisis?

 
The world was already slowly heading towards a work from home shift in employment culture, but COVID-19 has really supercharged this evolution. Many industries who previously may not have had work from home structures in place have been forced to adapt, and this has fundamentally changed our employment culture - remote work has become normalized.
 
Employees are reaping the benefits of a better work life balance, while saving time and money from this arrangement, and perhaps even find they're even more productive without the distractions of traditional office politics. I have no doubt that the future of work post crisis will see many industries and companies make a permanent transition to embracing remote work lifestyles, or at least offer the flexibility to do so.

 

How Should Managers/Leaders Prepare For The Future?

 

The reality of the shift from a traditional office environment to a work from home employment culture will require a new set of skills from managers and leaders. Where traditionally you would be managing someone one-on-one with direct contact, in the future leaders will need to adapt their management and delegation skills to be able to manage teams remotely across online environments.

What Have You Learned From The Crisis? How Will You Be Applying These Lessons Going Forward?

 
 
 

I've been fortunate to work from home for the past seven years now, however the crisis has seen new technology evolve to meet the growing demand of remote work now that whole teams are working collaboratively from home. The lesson I have taken is to stay flexible and open to new technologies, as this is a constantly evolving space, and likely will be for many years to come.

 

Do You Have Any Tips For Kickstarting and Managing Your Team When You Return To The Office?
 
Many employees will embrace getting back to the 'old normal' and returning to an office environment, however many will have likely become attached to their remote work lifestyle, and wish to continue their work in that capacity. Flexibility will be important in returning to the office, and managing people's expectations to establish a positive culture.
 
 
Do You Have Any Other Wisdom Leaders of Teams Can Benefit From?
 
Communication has always been the most important part of leading a team effectively, however this is more crucial and important than ever before, both now that we're working online, and in the transition back to an office environment after the crisis. Remember that this is unknown territory for everyone involved, both yourself and your team, and we're all navigating this evolution of technology and workplace culture together. As such communication will be vital.
 
Megan is an Australian Journalist and the founder and senior editor of Mappingmegan.com; a niche adventure travel blog with a focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She is a digital content creator who has been blogging professionally for 7 years.


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