Sunday, October 15, 2023

COVID-19’s impact on work, workers, and the workplace of the future Cornell Blog#1


 A Paper co-authored by Kevin Kniffin along with 28 other researchers and scholars from around the world looked at what the world of work will look like, post covid-19. This study includes a preview of how covid-19 may change work practices in the long term and offers projections about the workplace of the future. How Kniffin and his co-authors conducted this research was to take a broad view of the pandemic's many impacts on the workplace. Some of the things they had concluded could be the new normal of working from home. The authors project that working from home will continue for many workers. They believe organizations recognize the health risks of open-plan offices. Organizations will also appreciate cost savings of replacing full-time employees with contractors who can stay connected digitally. One goal of there paper is to guide future research to examine whether and how the covid quarantines affected work productivity, creativity, and innovation. 

Virtual Teams. Virtual teams were already growing and importance pre covid. Now, many workers participate in remote teams using digital communication. Kniffin and his team thought it was important to recognize the challenges and adopt proper practices to help minimize conflicts. Some of the recommendations based on there research was formalize team processes, clarify team goals and build-in structural solutions to foster psychologically safe discussions. 

They also found that there could be a Greater appreciation for woman leaders. Kniffin point to high-profile woman leaders who have grappled with covid-19 effectively, including Angela Merkel( Chancellor of Germany) and Tsai Ing-wen( President of Taiwan). And they list several feminine values and traits that can be effective in crisis management including:

  • A communal orientation in moral decision-making
  • Higher sensitivity to risk, particularly about health issues
  • Higher conscientiousness
  • More attentive communication styles

 

And finally Creating roadmaps for new patterns of work. With the sudden shift in working from home, Kniffin touches on many different aspects the pandemic impacted workers and organizations. The point to economic, social, and psychological challenges such as risks of workers being deemed "essential" as well as laid off workers. They discuss the economic inequality, social distancing, loneliness, stress,  burnout and addiction. With there research, they hope their effort will help other researchers take steps to manage the negative effects of covid-19 and start designing evidence-based roadmaps for moving forward.

 I think this is a great study in looking at the different side effects covid has had on the workplace. Its good to recognize not only the economic effects the pandemic had but also the psychological aspect it had on people. I found this article helpful because it had discussed more than the digital side, but talked about traits that could be effective during crisis management.



Source:

Johnson, C. S. (2020, September 25). COVID-19’s impact on work, workers, and the workplace of the future | Dyson BusinessFeed. Cornell SC Johnson. https://business.cornell.edu/hub/2020/09/25/covid-19s-impact-work-workers-workplace-future/

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4 comments:

  1. Great article! I like the in depth analysis of COVID-19's impact on the workplace, which goes beyond just the economic repercussions. It's a valuable perspective on the changing landscape of post-pandemic work and the need for more research in this area.

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  2. Great Summary! This does a good job at outlining the changes that we have seen from the pandemic. A lot of things definitely have changed and how the workplace has adapted to the pandemic.

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  3. Thank you for this fanatic summary! I really enjoyed how it explained the effect the pandemic had on companies and the workplace. It is very interesting to see all of the changes that are still in place and most likely won't be leaving anytime soon. Many things have changed, good and bad, but it is all about how workplaces can continue to stay up to date for the wellness of their employees.

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  4. This summary provides a comprehensive look at how COVID-19 has reshaped work and life. It's a reminder that we need to consider not just the 'what' but the 'how' and 'why' of our work."

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