When the Covid19 pandemic started in March 2020, only about 4% of people in the Czech Republic were working remotely on a regular basis. Once the crisis began, more than 60% of people, with the exception of essential workers and production manufacturers, were sent to work from home, often without any training and preparation or the necessary infrastructure.
More, throughout the year the repeated school closing turned working from home into a nightmare for working parents. In consequence, many people (mostly women – above 60 000 in the Czech Republic) decided to quit the labor force last year to cope with the pressures of the pandemic.
But there is one more dire consequence triggered by the forced movement into remote work in 2020.
THE TRAUMA OF REMOTE WORK DURING COVID
Because of all the reasons above, many people experienced working remotely (aka from home) for the first time as a trauma. Tensions previously swept under the rug emerged at the surface and homes turned often into inescapable emotional war zones. With no previously developed remote work habits (read mental and emotional discipline and presence) or skills (mastering virtual work platforms, communications and meeting facilitation), forced to work from inadequate spaces put together over night and stressed out by even more stressed bosses and needy family members, many people cannot wait to get out of their houses and return to the office. Any escape is better than the Covid WFH nightmare, isn’t it?
With most companies in Europe expected to be able to provide enough safety for people to be able to return to the office before summer and with numerous people in the traumatized mental state above, a painful question emerges: how about people who do enjoy and are omre productive when working remotely?
According to research, currently about 20% of the global workforce would prefer to continue working remotely. This is a fivefold increase compared to the global level of 4% remote workers in 2019. About 60% of people would like to enjoy more flexibility provided by a hybrid working model and only 20% of people would like to return to working full-time from an office.
I admit: I love remote work. I have been working from home since 2012 and teaching remote leadership since 2017. When the Covid started, remote work helped me to save between 4 to 6 hours per day spent previously in mindless commuting. I also love the options and opportunities provided by remote work to people, their families and their communities – small and large alike. So I am a bit biased in this regard.
This doesn’t change the fact that more remote work could trigger the greatest revolution on the global labor market since World War II. On the one hand, companies could reinvent their working and employee productivity measurement models, gain easier access to talent from anywhere and save money of office rent. On the other hand, employees could gain more autonomy, true freedom of movement and a chance for the long-debated work-life balance (it’s more work-life integration, but that’s a different story).
Yet, what can we realistically expect when offices start to open? On the one hand, managers might be tempted to restore their status symbols and to strive to “see their people” in order to manage them (which is a good cover-up in many cases for the often missing basic managerial capabilities such as people motivation and clear communication skills). On the other hand, also there will be people who, for fear of missing out, might be tempted to agree to going back to the office even though this might not reflect their reals needs or circumstances in which they are truly productive.
THEREFORE, WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
In order for employees to have a real word to say in what will happen to them at work after Covid, they need to have a VISIBLE and INFLUENTIAL name – aka PERSONAL BRAND.
It’s as simple as that. When you are recognized as a TRUSTED EXPERT who knows their craft and are able to deliver CONCRETE AND MEASURABLE VALUE from anywhere, few people will afford to push you around, mainly on a stretched labor market.
Being a VISIBLE AND TRUSTED EXPERT places you in a position of empowerment. It places you in a position of partnership with your coworkers, bosses and clients. It makes it clear for everyone that you are aware of your value and that you want to have a word to say in your future and in your career journey.
What’s more, AN IMPACTFUL PERSONAL BRAND will also help you to prevent falling into burnout, as many people before you who then solved their challenges by taking long sabbaticals or changing jobs (only to get to the brink of burnout again because of unsustainable working circumstances).
We can change that. Now – these days – we have a chance to change that. It is absolutely unnecessary for people to burnout anymore.
But to get there, we need to take our career journeys into our own hands. What’s more, we need to take our PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS into our own hands and to make sure that you have a name that is VISIBLE, TRUSTWORTHY AND INFLUENTIAL in your organization.
For the people who are looking for means to build such a name, I say welcome!
It is exactly for people like you that I created the incoming mastermind PERSONAL BRANDING FOR REMOTE AND HYBRID WORKERS. It has never been more urgent to make sure that you key stakeholders SEE YOU AND HONOR YOUR VALUE AND CONTRIBUTION to your organization.
Do you want to learn how to do that? Join me for 10 modules of virtual training and 24/7 digital support in a dedicated virtual group, in a cohort of smart and dedicated peers from all over Europe.
We start on April 27th and we will work together for two months. Check this link for more details and TO REGISTER or drop me an email at cm@cristinamuntean.com with any questions you might have.
PERSONAL BRANDING IS PERSONAL. I will be thrilled to show you how to build a visible, reliable and valuable personal brand when working remotely or in a hybrid manner. Looking forward to seeing you in my incoming program!
CHECK THIS LINK FOR THE INCOMING MASTERMIND PERSONAL BRANDING FOR REMOTE AND HYBRID WORKERS FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION.
