Resolving to Change (For the Better) in 2021
The writing of New Year’s Resolutions is a tradition going back centuries. The start of a new calendar year provides us an opportunity to assess the state of things and consider ways to do better. Perhaps no turning of the calendar year has been as monumental as transitioning from 2020 to 2021, for January has brought us the promise of relief from the global pandemic that has virtually paralyzed life for billions and suggests, at long last, a return to some semblance of normality.
But even as COVID-19 treatments and vaccines begin to help us against this deadly scourge, we must ask ourselves, as we do every January, can we do better? A recent issue of Rolling Stone asked 12 social trend experts to assess the state of the world and suggest ways things may improve as the threat of coronavirus recedes. Their predictions are illuminating, especially for business leaders trying to plan for the year ahead.
Among the group’s predictions for 2021 are:
Companies will adopt a more global mindset.
COVID-related lockdowns have forced us all to rely more and more on the Internet and electronic communication. We have come to realize physical location is no longer such a critical factor when it comes to designing, manufacturing, marketing, buying, distributing, and delivering products and services. Likewise, a company’s “staff” can live and cooperate from virtually anywhere in the world. Markets are literally global. In 2021, expect more and more companies to recruit talent internationally as well as interact with a wider range of international customers and clients.
A Greater Focus on Social Impact.
The idea of “social impact” — how a company’s activities affect its customers and the world at large, is one that has been gaining greater attention over recent years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend. Many investors are focusing on companies that not only make money, but actually make the world a better place.
A Stronger Commitment to Work-Life Balance.
COVID has forced a large chunk of the workforce to work from home, producing mixed results. On one hand, it has afforded workers more “flexibility,” as well as eliminating wasteful commuting. On the other, when your home is your office, you’re always “at work.” This includes evenings, weekends, and holidays. Many studies show working-from-home has increased worker productivity. (Though this may just be the result of people putting in longer hours.)
This can create more employee stress and tension as staffs struggle to juggle their domestic and professional responsibilities from the same chair. Realizing telecommuting may become standard operating procedure, even after the pandemic abates, many companies are seeking ways to encourage their employees to strike a friendly balance between home or office, lest they experience a wave of worker burnout.
Redefining “Success.”
Trauma often causes victims to re-evaluate priorities. This is certainly becoming the case with the American workplace-at-large. Traditionally, employment has been a “transactional” relationship in which companies try to get the most productivity from employees while paying them the least amount of money possible. (In this scenario, employees also try to receive the highest amount of compensation for the least amount of work possible.)
More and more companies have realized this purely transactional relationship just doesn’t work very well. Exceptionally profitable, enduring companies tend to be those in which workers are truly engaged in the tasks at hand, who actually care about the work they’re doing and bring their A-game to the office every day of the week. In 2021, look for business leaders to emphasize purpose more than ever before, to work toward building a company culture that excites, motivates, and brings joy and pride to every member of its professional family.
As this article in the Harvard Business Review makes clear, creating a purpose-driven organization will continue to be of key importance to organizations, especially those wishing to compete in the talent war as the economy picks up in 2021. Improving cultures and leveraging one’s people is something I have much experience with as this recent profile in Forbes attests. If you are curious about resolving to better your business in 2021, please contact me at laura@conoverconsulting.com so we can make this a great year.