Welcome to the New Normal | Where Work is Done Almost 100% Virtual

It was not so long ago when all of us where safe inside the confines of our offices, workstations, and conference rooms. However, in just a matter of a few days the entire business landscape has changed, and most of us were uprooted from our comfort zones and were forced to work from home. Imagine the confusion that this has brought to most businesses. The unexpected turn has made all of us shift from the non-virtual to virtual environment, and very few among us were ready to adapt to this change.

Welcome to the New Normal - Where work is done almost 100% Virtual.

So how are you in the New Normal?

I can just imagine how you're feeling right now, some of you are probably feeling afraid, angry, even sad or maybe even depressed. If you are feeling very down at the moment, allow me to send you some virtual hugs and tons of hearts just so you know that across the planet a lot of people do really care, and feel for you. If there is anything to be thankful in this time of the pandemic is that many people have shown genuine care, and kindness towards each other. We can even feel the love from even those we did not expect to care.

I sometimes feel anxiety creeping in because of the feeling of isolation, and the mental stress of not being outside. I am an extrovert by nature, and I find myself energized when I interact with other people. However, with the new reality, I don't get to see people that often except when I do my grocery runs every weekend. I am one of the lucky folks though who live with my family, and everyday my partner and I are surrounded by the love from our furbabies bringing us both so much happiness everyday. But not everyone is as lucky as we are. Some were stuck alone in their homes without their loved ones. And many of them are our colleagues, workmates, and friends.

How is your organization in the New Normal?

As an employee, I always imagine what it's like for my organization. If I am worried, I imagine everyone is too. People in my company are probably afraid for the future, concerned about their job security, sad that some of their peers and friends are having the most difficult time this year.

Imagine what it was like for leaders and managers the first few weeks of the lock down. I wonder what owners of companies felt when the news of a community quarantine was decided, forcing them to close their shops and asking them to start migrating their facilities to the virtual environment. I imagine it to have been a nightmare. Lucky are the few companies who was able to transition fast, but many more had to close down shops, and I heard some are now filing for bankruptcy. This is the hard reality that we all face now.

We can't really turn back time anymore, nor can we beat ourselves for not being ready for this change. No one has anticipated the pandemic, no one really was prepared, we were all caught surprised.

The question in our heads, me included, is what's next? What is the Work From Home environment going to be like? Will this be the next normal?

What is Leadership and Management Like in the New Normal?

In this time of crisis, when a call for innovative management and leadership is at our doors, how did us managers and leaders exercised planning, leading, organizing and control. I wonder how they managed to address the many issues that are now in front of them - Technology, People and Process, as examples.

How about you? How did you address issues on technology like connectivity, and technical support? When it comes to people, how did you manage communication, people productivity, performance and discipline management, coaching, even training? And finally, in terms of process, how did you ensure that governance are effective, compliance, operations management, and human resource management?

I invite you all to please share your best practices on the comment section below.

What is the New Normal like for you?

I want to learn from you too.