The corporate universe with its sinuous behavior has always been led to a series of challenges, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity have always been present, but in recent years this context has gained high notoriety, to the surprise of many who projected the year 2020 as the year of the real resumption, we discovered the so-called new normal, confirming the maxim quoted at the beginning and we were exposed to yet another moment of great apprehension and instability, but is that all? I don’t think so.

From one day to the next, the big centers became empty and the workforce had to adapt to their residential environment as their workplace for a safe journey, without physical contact to ensure health and work continuity, furthermore companies had to digitize more than 80% of their business models and processes, bringing to reality the digital transformation by totally digital signed documents, entire processes in the cloud, VPN, contributing for a safe work environment.

I strongly believe in the human beings ability to learn, unlearn and relearn, we are absolutely adaptable to different situations, I am sure that we will soon return to shared environments but with new habits, arising from social isolation and that will bring us many gains.

My experience during this quarantine period was of many discoveries about the home office at the beginning, everything seemed very unusual and the moment of isolation was supposed to be brief, a range from 30 to 60 days, and the expectation to the resolution only increased. Throughout I noticed that the quality of life had increased significantly, while I was able to invest my transit time to the office better by learning something different or improving my skills, doing physical exercises and with my wife. In addition, the amount of information acquired, and professional growth was undoubtedly only possible due to remote work.

We certainly need to pay attention to the famous “live at work”, but a routine with well-defined processes and triggers helps us to ensure to do not make confusion between “home” and “office”. To mitigate this risk, I commissioned an office in my home from scratch, which meets the ergonomic and technical specifications very well, just as the company environment can provide but by the way I let it totally closed whenever I am out of the workday, only opening during the pre-defined and agreed moments. The key result was the gain of more autonomy and productivity in activities in a cozy space that really helps to continue facing the new normal.

Another interesting experience was that we got to know our coworkers and clients better, the meetings that were previously held in person, today, we are pleased to hold them by video call, without missing opportunities, with each one in their own environment safe, with their headphones, headsets, ambiance and even personalized chairs, a more humanized approach in which everyone from the comfort of their home can conduct their commitments in a light and relaxed way.

Meeting safety requirements during the pandemic period is not so challenging today, but the future of work is going to be, especially regarding the kind of work journey that will in fact remain. In order to keep its competitive aspects, corporations will need to think and rethink their performance models, considering the specificity of each position, with flexible working hours and places of work, and it will not be surprising to realize that the home office can become a regular model with sporadic trips to office only in cases of real need.

In hard times we usually react with great concern and in a way we are driven to adapt. That is why I believe that, as mentioned above, the result of this set of scenarios after the adaptation process will certainly be a gain and growth relationship for all.

About the Author: Itamar Alves Junior is a Petroleum Engineer graduated from UNISUAM, studied Engineering of Offshore Naval Machines at COPPE / UFRJ, studying Occupational Safety Engineering at Estácio and an MBA in People Management at UNISUAM. Member of the SPE Brazil Section since 2014, he is currently Director of Partnerships and vice-chair of HSE of the SPE Brazil Section, in addition to be a member of the committee of young professionals. About his professional career, he served as first class soldier at Brazilian Army for 04 years and is currently a Business Development Analyst at Firjan SENAI, where he joined in 2013 and works focused on business development in technology, innovation and education.