In the nearly three years since the outbreak of COVID-19, the devastating impact of the pandemic has caused us to reexamine the way we live and has driven massive changes in the workplace. Those companies that have recovered from the pandemic have entered a new world in which the standards by which a company’s effectiveness, competitiveness and quality are measured have changed.
Worker salaries have not kept pace with inflation over the past few years – a problem exacerbated by pandemic-era supply chain issues and labor shortages.
At the same time, workplaces are grappling with the creeping psychological dimension of COVID-19 — a wide-ranging mental health crisis exacerbated by social isolation, virus anxiety and social unrest during the pandemic.
COVID-19 has also widened the digital divide across industries, accelerated automation, and required workers and employers to develop new skills and capabilities.
To address global problems and explore how we can work together in an increasingly divided world, leaders from government, business and civil society will gather at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.
The challenges facing today’s labor market must be part of these conversations, as companies must embrace the lessons learned from the pandemic and work towards changes that make them more resilient and more in line with the needs of the modern workforce.
Fair pay and the war for talent
In the post-pandemic world, it is more important than ever for companies to form new social and psychological contracts with their employees.
In order to align the needs of shareholders, employees and other stakeholders, many companies need to innovate ways and means to achieve profitability, while also ensuring that the company provides competitive rewards and benefits packages in order to attract and retain top talent.
Forward-thinking companies support their employees’ physical and mental health, protect their financial well-being, and prepare them for career growth.
Employers will rethink their approach to work itself, constantly asking questions like: How do we provide flexibility to our employees? What barriers can we remove to make work more fluid? How can we remove barriers and become a more agile organization?
In many cases, this will mean abandoning or changing traditional work structures in favor of more fluid and flexible working models.
mental health crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has also exposed the physical and psychological toll that work can take on employees, especially as companies continue to navigate hybrid work models and employees respond to the fallout from the pandemic.
Before the pandemic hit, nearly 21% of U.S. adults were already dealing with mental health challenges. Since then, the devastating impact of the pandemic has greatly exacerbated employees’ mental health challenges. Several U.S. companies reported signs of burnout.
As these crises intensify, companies must address mental health issues to avoid employee burnout and continue to attract and retain talent, especially as employees consider mental health support an important consideration in future work and career decisions.
Most companies have support systems in place to address employee mental health issues. According to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends report, 86% of companies surveyed provide mental health support, including improving access to assistance programs, offering mental health apps, and providing virtual care on demand.
A holistic approach should be taken to look at mental health benefits, including consideration of the impact of physical health on mental health. There are many things that can be done to support employees’ mental health, such as regular working hours, fair pay and flexible work arrangements.
retraining revolution
The disruptive impact of the pandemic has also accelerated existing trends in automation and digitization, which require workers and employers to adapt to the need for new skills. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2020 report, the skills required for jobs are likely to change significantly in the coming years, with most workers expected to need to be retrained by 2025.
As technology advances, it is imperative for companies to provide employees with the resources to acquire new skills if they want to build flexible and adaptable teams that keep their capabilities up-to-date.
For prospective employees, reskilling opportunities, or “job shaping,” allow employees to create job descriptions based on their skills. This is also one of the first needs for prospective employees. Companies wishing to remain competitive in the labor market and attract top talent must adapt to these new metrics and align with the needs of the workforce of the future.
Fostering a culture that supports continuous learning and providing employees with career development tools and resources will be key to staying competitive by avoiding coaching, recruitment and knowledge wastage costs.
The nature of work has been changing since the outbreak. Just as the pandemic has had a permanent impact on our personal lives, it has also fueled existing trends and, in many cases, amplified their impact on today’s workplace.
To build an equitable and inclusive future of work, Mercer and a coalition of businesses with a common goal have joined the World Economic Forum in the Good Jobs Coalition. The Good Jobs Alliance is a global, cross-sectoral initiative that draws on expertise and relevant input from the private and public sectors, academia and civil society.
While we may not have seen the end of the pandemic’s impact on the world, it is clear that we cannot move forward without addressing what has emerged over the past two years and changing the way we think about promoting great workplaces. (Fortune Chinese website)
Martine Ferland is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Consulting. Mercer Consulting is the world’s largest consulting firm on issues related to workforce, retirement and employee health.
Opinions expressed in opinion articles published on Fortune.com are solely those of the author and do not represent the views and positions of Fortune.
Translator: Zhong Huiyan-Wang Fang
Almost three years since the onset of COVID-19, pandemic-related disruptions have made us rethink so much of how we live and catalyzed great change in the workplace. Companies emerging from the pandemic entered a new world, where the metrics for measuring an organization’ effectiveness, competitiveness, and quality have shifted.
Over the past few years, employee wages have been steadily outpaced by inflated living costs–a divergence only exacerbated by pandemic-related supply chain issues and labor shortages.
Meanwhile, workplaces have struggled with COVID-19’s silent counterpart–a widespread mental health crisis worsened by the pandemic’s isolation, virus anxiety, and social upheaval.
Across industries, the pandemic has also widened the digital divide and accelerated automation, requiring workers and employers to develop new skills and capabilities.
This week, leaders from across government, business, and civil society are convening at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting to address global issues and find ways for us to cooperate in an ever-fragmented world.
The challenges facing today’s workforce must be a part of these conversations, as businesses come to terms with the lessons learned from the pandemic and work to transform their organizations to become more resilient and in line with the needs of modern workers.
Fair pay and the war on talent
In our post-pandemic world, it’s more important than ever for companies to develop new social and psychological contracts with their employees.
To reconcile the needs of their shareholders, their employees, and other stakeholders, many companies will need to create new ways to meet demands for profitability while still ensuring they’re offering competitive rewards and benefits that attract and retain great talent.
Forward-thinking companies will ensure they’re supporting employees’ physical and mental health, protecting their financial well-being, and preparing them for the future of work.
And employers will rethink their approach to work itself, continually asking the questions: How can we make work more flexible for our people? What barriers can we remove to make work more seamless? How can we overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of becoming a more agile organization?
In many cases, it will mean abandoning or transforming traditional work structures in favor of decidedly more fluid and flexible work models.
Mental health crisis
COVID-19 has also exposed the mental and physical toll work can exact on employees, especially as businesses continue to navigate hybrid work and employees deal with the aftershocks of the pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, nearly 21% of American adults were already experiencing mental health challenges. Since then, pandemic-related disruptions have contributed significantly to employees’ ongoing mental health challenges, with several US companies reporting of indications.
With these compounding crises, companies must find ways to adequately address mental health concerns to avoid employee burnout and continue attracting and retaining talent, particularly as workers cite mental health support as an important factor in their future work and career decisions.
Most organizations have established support systems to address employees’ mental health concerns. According to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends report, 86% of surveyed businesses provided mental health support, including increasing accessibility to assistance programs, offering access to mental health apps, and providing on- demand virtual care.
Sufficient mental health benefits should take a holistic approach that considers the impacts of physical health on mental well-being. Measures such as predictable working hours, fair compensation, and flexible work arrangements, can all be utilized to support workers-ing mental well.
Reskilling revolution
Pandemic-related disruption has also accelerated existing trends in automation and digitization, which requires both workers and employers to align with demands for new skills. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Future of Jobs Report, required job skills overly significant to change next few years, with a majority of workers estimated to require reskilling by 2025.
As technology advances, providing workers with resources for acquiring new skills will become increasingly necessary for organizations looking to build agile, adaptive, and resilient teams with up-to-date capabilities.
Opportunities for re-upskilling, or “job crafting,” whereby employees can create their own job descriptions that are aligned with their skills, are also among the top demands for prospective employees. Companies looking to remain competitive in the labor market and attract top talent must adapt to these new metrics–and align with the needs of the future workforce.
Fostering a culture that embraces continuous learning and providing employees with professional development tools and resources will be key to remaining competitive by avoiding outplacement, hiring, and knowledge-loss costs.
The nature of work has been changing since before the pandemic. Just as COVID-19 has permanently impacted our personal lives, it has also expedited these existing trends, and in many cases, increased their impact on today’s workplace.
To help create a fair and inclusive future of work, Mercer and a coalition of like-minded companies have joined with the World Economic Forum in the Good Work Alliance, a global cross-industry initiative leveraging private and public sector, academic, and civil society expertise and input.
While we may not have seen the end of COVID-19’s influence on our world, it has become clear that we cannot move forward without addressing the issues that have arisen from the last two years and adjusting our perspective on how to promote quality workplaces.
Martine Ferland is the president and CEO of Mercer, the world’s largest firm consulting on issues relating to workforce, retirement, and employee health.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
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