Leading
Through
A Crisis
The coronavirus crisis has been a major
wake-up call for the world of work. But while
our economies have temporarily slowed
down, the pandemic itself has paradoxically
accelerated the future of work. Building
on the lessons we have learnt in the past
months, we have a unique opportunity
to turn the current challenges into
opportunities that will work for everyone.
About a month ago, at the height of the current pandemic, a
staggering 2.7 billion workers were either under full or partial
lockdown. That is around 80% of the world’s workforce. As a
result, many of us have been forced to work remotely while
others have redeployed their skills to industries that have seen
a major boom in demand such as e-commerce and logistics.
And while on many fronts the world has been swift to react, the
coronavirus pandemic has slowed our economies to a crawl, with
the global GDP predicted to drop by 3% next year.
COVID-19 and its aftermath mark a new era of work. We are
experiencing a profound change to how we work and how
businesses operate. From health and safety, remote working,
accelerated digitisation to de-globalisation of supply chains;
the new world of work will present an immense challenge for
workers, businesses and governments.
Leading through a crisis requires more than
just managing a response to it
At the Adecco Group, we have witnessed these changes
first hand. With the pandemic being both a public health and
economic crisis, right at the start, we set our primary focus
on securing the wellbeing and safety of our colleagues and
associates and ensuring business continuity to support our
clients. More than 30,000 of our own employees have worked
from home throughout the past weeks and we have pulled out
all the stops to continue facilitating work for more than 400,000
associates every day.
Through our brands such as LHH and General Assembly, we’ve
made online learning resources and webinars available for free
and we’ve closely worked with local and national authorities to
help redeploy people where their skills have been needed most.
Recognising that unprecedented crises call for unprecedented
measures, we have joined forces with other leading HR solutions
companies and formed an alliance dedicated to helping people
get back to their physical workplaces safely when the time is
right. A few weeks ago, we published a practical guide that had
reviewed more than 400 examples across 13 countries and five
sectors.
COVID-19 has been a monumental reality check for the world
of work. But just as the quick response to the crisis played a key
role at its beginning, it is important now to equally focus on what
comes next and build on the lessons learnt.
Beyond the imminent crisis: Five key trends
shaping the new world of work
While some parts of the world are still in the crisis phase and
are yet to begin lifting their lockdown measures, most of us have
already entered the phase of slow recovery and reopening of our
economies. Dominated by the physical distancing and remote
working, the new world of work that will emerge from this will be
shaped by these five key trends:
1. State involvement in labour markets will remain strong:
governments around the world have been forced to act
fast and enact measures that have mitigated the negative
economic impact on workers and businesses. It is likely that
this involvement will remain strong at least in the foreseeable
future.
2. From globalisation to de-globalisation: the pandemic has