Future of Work

What are your thoughts on the "future" of work? Do you believe the effect of the pandemic will change how work-life is permanently or just temporarily? Will we ever go back to how it was 2 years ago?

I believe it would be hard to argue that after such an unprecedented experience, things will go back to how they were two years ago. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have affected everything and its ripple effects that will alter the future- work included. Just a few weeks ago, we discussed that it is only a matter of time before companies realize they can outsource their skilled work abroad to less expensive skilled laborers. This happened with customer service jobs in the 1990s. It would be reasonable to think it could happen to post-pandemic accounting, tech, and design jobs. However, just because we can work from home in many job functions technologically, it doesn't mean that every company will adopt it. We will continue to see a mix of what companies do in the future- it'll be how they differentiate themselves from a talent acquisition perspective.

How has the pandemic affected your work life? How has the culture of your organization changed?

I work in medical device sales. In 2020, reps were in a situation where we could not go into hospitals to support our cases (surgeries) because procedures were being canceled or, later, access back into the hospital was limited. Our work-life went from helping physicians and staff in the operating room to sitting on Zooms throughout the day. It was a 180 from the typical day-to-day.

Our organization as a whole perceivably remained the same. Many folks wanted to return to the office, and for those that didn't, it appears that management was very flexible in making accommodations. However, the sales force (already working remotely across the country) has seen dramatic turnover—about a 25% reduction across the nation in under two years. I was with the organization for over seven years and had no desire to leave the company until during the pandemic. Our team consisted of 10 reps. All of these stayed until 2021, but five of the ten have gone since then. Myself included. While I cannot speak for the group's rationale for exiting the organization, I know that we all began talking a lot more inside our regional teams and across the country. The pandemic provided us a pause in life and allowed us to regroup and reassess. After this reassessment, a quarter of the national sales team realized they would be happier elsewhere.