Impact of Covid 19 on Businesses
The Covid 19 Pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on how organisations operate, and how, where and when employees interact with each other
The balance sheet if not for the intervention of governments would be severely impacted, to the extent that some familiar brands would be struggling to survive, while some have already fallen by the wayside. With the reappraisal of the business model, the human cost has also been that high, organisations have shed their labour across most levels.
Organisations that fared well and survived the Lockdowns were those that had evolved, adopted new working regimes and patterns and had the infrastructure in place to support remote working prior to the onset of the pandemic. Those that were not in the same position did not fare so well.
With the Pandemic at its height come lockdowns, working from home became the ‘new norm’ for employees and organisations alike. In places where there was internal resistance from management to allow homeworking, for example: “how do I know they are working?”, “how will I be able to manage them?”, “what will the quality of the output be like?” management had to change its mindset. On the other hand, for the employee, their thoughts were concerned with appreciation of their efforts, coping in isolation, work-life balance, promotion and pay rises. Technology has allayed many of those fears. Connectivity, for example through platforms such as Zoom and Teams, allows employees to share information and work collectively across various platforms, but not necessarily for all.
With the easing of lockdowns, migration back into the office has started, albeit, slowly, with occupancy levels well below pre-lockdown numbers. Lower numbers can be attributed to any one of a combination of factors:
- staff do not necessarily feel safe entering the workplace
- a fear of using public transport to commute
- some feel it more beneficial and productive to work remotely from home
The combined effect of Government Guidelines, safety fears and the ability to work remotely from home without the need to commute, has resulted in office premises being underutilised. In some cases this is as low as 50%, while still running ‘life support’ systems at 100% for operational needs. A costly exercise.
The adoption of working in an agile manner has brought into question the need for office premises and the associated costs. Why occupy an office when organisations such as WeWork, SpaceIQ, Regus and WorkSpace offer a multitude of facilities and work-settings on a call off and/or on as needed basis?
Informed organisations are now looking at opportunities to right-size. They understand the need for a front door and focal point, but not one that is a constraint or a drain on the business.
For assistance adapting your business to the effects of Covid 19,
contact Sonny Hasan + Associates workplace consultants today.