New Normal: Modern Reality for Employees

Dear colleagues, all of us have passed a test over the recent six months that neither our fathers nor our grandfathers have ever faced. It is not only and not so much related to the pandemic. The pandemic itself is not a new phenomenon. The humanity has already had to deal with such a disaster. The total closure of the world that followed the disease was an unprecedented event that would remain in our historical memory forever.

Being your consultants, all the time we have been close to you, our clients. We didn't know more than you did, so we tried to understand what was happening and to adapt to the changes together with you. Now we can say that the most difficult, shock period is over. No matter how many new waves will hit us, they will not be as unexpected and stressful as we had last spring. Over the past six months, we have realized the contours of the new world and learned to live in it. Contrary to the expectations, it has turned out that there are not only disadvantages, but also advantages.

All this time, we have been constantly monitoring the events in our client companies related to the staff and management system as a whole. We analyzed how the remote format of work affected employees, their anxiety, engagement, and how management practices changed in companies. Some observations were qualitative and were made within the framework of consulting projects, while others were quantitative, measured in the course of pulse surveys and other studies.

We wish to share the first analytical conclusions made "on the heels" of the events, with you in this issue of HR Times. We do hope that more data and deeper analytics will appear eventually, but here you will see truly fresh results and feel the spirit of the time and the emotions of its chroniclers.

Take care of yourselves!

Mark Rozin, Ecopsy Managing Partner