#8 Potential Changes In The Workforces Post-Pandemic

Workforce culture is radically shifting. In the near future, demand for skilled labor is going to increase. For instance, post-pandemic companies will be preparing themselves to recover from their setbacks. This will create more demand for skilled labor and the competition will get even tougher than usual. However, all of this is totally subjective for industry-to-industry and no one can really say what the future may have in store for us. Here are some changes that are to be expected from the workforces post-pandemic.

1. Replacement of meetings with online conferences and webinars. – Due to social distancing, workforces are shifting to the virtual world, adapting and evolving to maintain the balance in their work operations even during tough times.
2. Office buildings evolving into “elaborate conference centers” – This is one of the major changes taking place currently in almost every major industry. Even after the post-pandemic situation, the workforces must have evolved so much in time, that it will be safe to say that the “virtual office spaces” are here to stay in the long run.
3. End of the business travel and home office stipends – Business travels are a thing of the past, the virtual world is bringing workforces closer. Some companies are providing their employees with home office stipends instead of travel allowances, so that their employees might just consider upgrading their workspaces in their home itself.
4. More equitable workplace for everyone – The virtual world is inclusive for everyone, it has set equal grounds for all. During the pandemic, the workforces have grown in the most profound ways and it’s definitely not going to go back to the way it was.
5. Acceleration of automation – The adoption of technology is evolving in many ways, even questioning the requirement to return to the workspace.
6. Increase in the demand for digital skills at bridging the digital divide – Given the fact that digital dependency is increasing by the day, it is very essential, from a companies point of view, to upgrade themselves digitally. Hence, today digital skills are of the utmost priority in almost all industries.
7. Shift away from nine to five offices – Since people don’t have to travel all the way to their offices, companies are expanding the work hours for their employees.
8. Work From Home is going to be the new normal – In fact, many companies prefer to have their employees work from home as they believe it is actually leading to increased productivity and good results.

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in extraordinary disturbance across all industries. Many of them are even downsizing their workforces due to less revenue generation, resulting in an increasing unemployment rate, which in turn is acting as a catalyst for recession.

For fresh applicants, it is going to be even more challenging than ever to get a job. It has become very important to upskill and improve one-self to get a heads up in the highly competitive job market, especially now more than ever. Some of the most in-demand skills post-pandemic will consist of adaptability, emotional intelligence, negotiation, cybersecurity, digital skills, etc. However, these kinds of skills are not taught in our colleges but one can definitely learn than on the internet by themself, that too without making any sort of hefty investment in terms of time and money.

The internet has a lot to offer. From webinars and live sessions to online courses, there are many platforms offering a lot of good content to learn and encourage productivity. Due to the lockdown, we have a lot of time on our hands now. So instead of wasting away during this super long vacation, we might as well take our chances at self-development.