A major change has happened in the workplace due to Covid-19 with a major shift

Instructions

Step 1 – Provide a well-thought out response to the Discussion Questions. Review the questions and provide a response to each part of the questions. If there is an article involved in the discussion – read the entire article before responding. Be thorough and express your ideas.

Step 2 – Respond to at least two other classmates responses on the Discussion Board. Make the responses meaningful. Answer such as, “I agree with you, Herbie!” are not enough! Be thorough and well-thought out. Read their entire response and then provide your thoughts whether you agree with the ideas they present or disagree with them. Provide a point or two for each response. You can disagree politely

Student 1

Based on the the video we were asked to watch, I believe one of the biggest issues of employees working from home is the lack of business for those that have relied on knowledge based jobs to support their businesses and services. By having people pour into cities everyday, individuals were able to provide a myriad of services to accommodate those that needed to physically come into the office. Now that 1 in 3 Americans is working from home, compared to 1 in 50 prior to the pandemic, working class individuals will be forced to survive in a struggling economy that no longer requires their services. This will have devastating consequences for many small business owners that are responsible for employing huge segments of the population. In addition, it appears productivity is suffering by having workers complete their tasks at home. This may alter the speed in which businesses are able to accomplish goals, which may lead to a continued decline in our GDP.

If other companies follow Twitters example by not requiring workers to return to the office once lock-down comes to an end, then I think cities as we’ve come to know them will be permanently altered. While the culture and excitement that can be found in these urban environments is alluring, there are many disadvantages that a large segment of the populace will happily forgo. Issues such as traffic, homelessness, crime, disease, pollution, lack of green space, and exorbitant rental and home costs will drive many to seek other living arrangements. This will perhaps turn cities into a place to visit, but not necessarily live in. Managers and leaders will likely have to implement strict due dates and mandatory progress updates to ensure that productivity does not continue to suffer. With many struggling to “disconnect” prior to the pandemic, I worry that this expectation to be available will have a negative impact on our mental health. I am hopeful though that businesses will take in account the positive aspects of working remotely and redefine what the workday and workspace looks like once we have successfully eliminated the threat of this virus.

Student 2

1. What problems do you see from this video of employees working from home?

While I believe that there are many benefits of people working remotely, the video does bring to light some important issues that may emerge because of Covid-19 and jobs. One of the problems that I believe is important is that since people will nott be interacting face to face, there will be less of a close community within the work environment. As the video mentioned, young people who start in a new job usually socialize and build a social network so that they later on have connections in their field. The video mentions that this will not happen as easily because most coworkers won’t even meet one another. Another thing that can be a problem for companies is that many employees are more likely to be less productive when working remotely, and this can be harmful to companies. The last issue that I saw in the video which I thought was interesting is that statistically, it seems that women have been way more affected because of covid, because women are more likely to have jobs that require in-person interactions.

1. What impact will this shift have on cities?

The fact that people can now work remotely, means that they can live anywhere and still have their “city jobs”. This means that the cities will probably get less crowded, because people have the option to not drive to work everyday. Many people, especially those with families would rather live in less crowded areas such as the suburbs. They might not have had the option to live where they wanted to because of the long commutes but now they have the freedom to have a job they want and live where they want.

1. How will managers/leaders shift to supervise work?

While managing and leading employees virtually is probably going to be harder than before, the managers and leaders will have to start looking at the “quality” of their employees and the work they do rather that the “hours” that they “show up” to work. In my opinion this can be good for people that can manage their time effectively, even when working from home; but it can also be very bad for those who have a hard time self-motivating and lagging off on their work.