For over a year, COVID-19 and the restrictive measures used to control its spread, have significantly affected our relationship to work and business. For most companies, telecommuting and remote working have become the norm since the start of the pandemic.
This change has put under the spotlight companies’ behavior. Authenticity and honesty have become incredibly decisive in the success of a business. The switch from regular office work to remote work was accompanied by several changes.
The Remote Side of Business
Scott Armstrong, the editor-in-chief of Arabian Business says: “When most companies opted for remote work during covid, most of their initiatives to ease the transition for their employees, included providing them with desks and chairs to create a workspace at home.”
He goes on about how most companies neglected the mental health aspect. As well as the remote work itself, given that it wasn’t nearly half as popular as it was in life post-covid.
There is an open and active conversation about blended work models almost in every work place. And it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be something that will go away soon.
Empathy Always Wins with Ally Salama التعاطف طريق الفوز – How Honesty & Authenticity are Winning Characteristics in Business with Arabian Business Editor in Chief, Scott Armstrong
Things are chaning!
We are now in the age of knowledge economy, says Scott. In order to have long-term success, honesty and integrity are two fundamental principles. And while integrity at work takes various forms, it refers above all to traits that result in a strong work ethic.
In order to maintain this work ethic in the workplace, we must take new approaches towards employees. Although we’re not going to get there overnight, we must take steps to bring out the best in employees. This can be done by providing the right environment in the workplace, free from harassment, bullying, and creating an environment that cares about the mental health of its employees. There isn’t a single human being out there that isn’t vulnerable.
It is important to understand that there is still a long way to go about this journey. There is not enough advice, insight, or knowledge out in the public arena. There aren’t enough public places where people can speak about the stigma of mental health in workplaces.
Now, we are on the path and we are moving faster towards achieving a safer workplace environment. There are many steps we can take before we reach our final destination. One of them would be to listen, and take notes of bad leadership and avoid it at all costs.
Another step would be to build emotional intelligence and empathy into performance reviews for people in leadership roles. This step would help create an open and transparent work environment, where team members feel they can freely discuss issues without being sanctioned in any way.
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