New Work

New Work has been part of everyday life in many companies since the Corona crisis at the latest. While employees were reluctant to work from home just a few years ago, they could no longer ignore it during the crisis. Many companies had to quickly and effectively create a new working environment for their employees. Employees, on the other hand, had to find a solution for combining their life and work. This fundamental change in the world of work, which has been in the offing for several years, accelerated rapidly last year. Thanks to the latest technologies and widespread networking, the working world that had stood the test of time for decades was replaced by a new working world.

How do you define New Work?

The term New Work is primarily defined by the transformation of the old working world and its environment into a future-oriented and meaningful new working world. It is about management trusting its employees and trusting that employees will make good decisions on their own. However, in times of staff shortages, it also means that the way staff are managed will change. In addition, traditional working hours will change when home offices combine private life and the world of work. Then new aspects of daily work will come to the fore, enabling flexible and project-oriented work.

What does New Work mean for corporate structures?

The new working environments will replace the classic corporate structures, the hierarchies will be permanently changed. Old structures are being broken up and replaced by new ones. In many companies, the culture of avoiding mistakes has been lived for decades. This culture is being replaced by a new culture with greater innovative power. Routine tasks move into the background and the exchange of information between employees is simplified. The supervisor becomes a mentor and trainer. If companies manage this balancing act, then mutual appreciation and creativity will determine everyday company life.

New Work and the legal regulations

Certainly, with the increase in home office workplaces, there will also be legal adjustments. Basically, the same labour law regulations apply to these workplaces as if one were working in an office. The same applies to occupational health and safety and the General Data Protection Regulation, the implementation of which must also be guaranteed in the home office. Concepts must be drawn up for this and supplemented with the optimal equipment. There are various guides on the internet that simplify such implementation. Especially when it comes to data security, you should not go for the first solution that comes along, but use the possibilities of modern software solutions.

What happens if data is lost?

Working in a home office has advantages and disadvantages, just like a conventional job. One of the disadvantages is that you often don’t have well-secured computers in your own home. The company’s own administrator has no access to the data and therefore cannot back it up. If data is lost, valuable information can be lost forever. If this is the case, only professional help should be sought. If a data medium is damaged, then they can usually be recovered through professional data recovery. You can recognise a reputable company by the fact that it has its own clean room laboratory, for example, and good references.

The working world 4.0 and your employees

In principle, the same requirements apply to the modern working world as in the past. Only satisfied employees stay with the company. If an employee cannot contribute, he or she will notice this very quickly and leave the company. If an employee can work creatively and has enough variety, he or she will absorb the corporate culture and pass it on. If you are appreciated, then you will also show it to your colleagues.

The working world 4.0 and your managers

Due to the change in the modern working environment, managers also have to go through a change. You need to recognise and promote the skills of your employees. Even if the workplaces are far away due to the home office, you have to strengthen the sense of community and consolidate a relationship with your colleague. You become a kind of mentor who involves the employees in the responsibility and still remains the person in charge. You can only achieve this if you have trust and show it. Especially in projects, this has become part of everyday life. In New Work, a supervisor must know his employees and weigh their strengths and weaknesses. If that succeeds, the company is successful and all sides benefit.

How will cooperation work in the future?

In the future, the conference table will increasingly be replaced by software. Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and other software will enable virtual collaboration. Regular meetings should not exceed half an hour.  Project management software makes it possible to merge the individual work areas within the project. Sophisticated planning is also the basis for success in the working world 4.0. The necessary software should provide the necessary support and, for example, perfect document management. Internal and external communication will also change, because greater transparency within the teams is essential in the New Work.

What problems can arise in the New Work?

The Working World 4.0 should first be based on a secure organisational and legal foundation. Responsibilities, rights to issue instructions and rules must be clearly defined. If this is not the case, dissatisfaction and unrest quickly arise. If employees sit in the home office too often, they will eventually feel excluded or left out. In larger companies, problems can arise with the works council if New Work is implemented too quickly or in an unorganised manner.

Conclusion on New Work

New Work will replace the traditional workplace in the future. For some companies, including us, New Work is already a reality. If you implement the ideas of New Work skilfully, you will get more creative, more efficient and more productive employees who identify with the goals and values of the company.

Sources:

Attingo

Businessinsider