Eight in ten in the U.S. experiencing disruption.
Gallup
During COVID work is described in terms of a set of changing 1. Rules; 2. Boundary conditions; 3. Tools, and 4. Expectations. Let’s look at each: You think you know your work rules, because they were presented to you in a policy manual, workshop, or personal one-on-one. It was something like ‘to get along, play along’. These policies and instructions worked for you. You knew what was expected and learned how to do what was expected.
In the age of COVID, me-too, identity politics, and work tribes, do you really know your present work, career, and job rules; what is expected of you; what can be or can’t be done; what can be discussed and said to whom and when; and what are the known and unspoken enhancers, enforcers, and forbidden rules at work?
Until a few years ago, the boundary conditions for almost all businesses were the four walls in which work was conducted. It may have been the office, factory, restaurant, or some other workplace. In COVID time with the virtual office, the workplace may be corporate headquarters, your home, remote, WeWork, no office, or an automobile anywhere in the world.
The tools of the workplace not too many years ago were pens and mechanical devices. Now, workplace tools are digital including smart phones, (spell out) RFID, VR, AR, voice recognition, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and big data. Are you current with the tools and techniques of your profession and work expectations? For example, do you code?
A person entering the workplace twenty or even ten years ago assumed loyalty to a company was rewarded with lifetime work. No longer! Employers make us responsible for our employability to develop value-adding skills. Do you know your company’s, client’s or boss’s expectations in COVID time?
Work Lesson Earned: Almost all work 1. Rules; 2. Boundary conditions; 3. Tools, and 4. Expectations have changed or are changing during COVID time. What new rules have impacted you the most? What do you fear the most? What rules can you use to your advantage.