Corporate Culture Changes Because of the Pandemic

Granted, the new team cultures through the majority of 2020 have been influenced heavily by the pandemic, but they are some that will also impact the future of work. The last decade or more has seen an increasing number of companies employ remote work as an option for their employees and there are many more when it comes to the flexibility of the nature of jobs.

The pandemic has forced us to get creative and find new ways to be a team during a time where there are not as many choices across the world. It has also proved that remote work is not only for digital nomads. With the right kind of planning and organizing, remote work can be just as successful for corporates or any other kind of company.

GitLab is a prime example and there is much to learn from them. But what is important to note is that there have already been changes in the nature of work that have been slowly becoming more popular when it comes to team cultures in these different job structures. There is still teamwork, but a different kind, there is still team culture, but a different kind, there is still collaboration, more than before possibly, but a different kind. And this tells us that if it were not for the pandemic, we would have taken a longer while but still have reached some of the same states of team cultures we have fast-forwarded through 2020.

In an increasingly distributed workspace, these are some of the newer team cultures that have emerged and will possibly be what we will be accustomed to in the future.

Multicultural offices

Without the constraint of a physical space, teams can span across the globe! This means a single team can have members from different cities, states, countries, and cultures. Multicultural teams enrich the overall culture of the team, give way to broader perceptions, and generally betters the quality of discussion and output. This also means you can cater to clients across the world.

Increasing cross-functional collaboration

With no physical boundaries separating teams in an office, it’s easier to collaborate with people from different functional areas. Cross-functional collaboration is just that, people from different departments using their individual expertise and working together on a project. This is a great way to make a project more efficient by having experts from every aspect of the project working on it together. This also allows for a culture of learning, respect, and true collaboration while giving way for new and innovative ideas.

Increasing variety of technologies and tools

To ensure all of the cross-country, multicultural collaboration, and changing team culture is not hindered, the technologies that support them are extremely essential. There is a vast variety of technology options for different aspects of the typical work day while working remotely. Video conferencing tools allow for teams to communicate and work together. Activity and time tracking tools keep members accountable and help with freelance projects too. Project planning tools help keep track of the progress for different projects. And there are so many types available to suit every company’s and team’s needs. This is one of the culture changes that will keep evolving in the future.

Greater work-life balance

With the focus of work being on delivery and quality rather than time spent on a job, it allows for better usage of each individual’s time. Companies who employ many remote working teams encourage non-work related conversations within the teams as well as across teams. They insist on after-work activities and for employees to find common ground on topics that encourage overall growth. Time spent on non-work activities is more acceptable now than it was years ago. This is a huge shift in office and team culture and possibly one of the culture changes that will stick around.

Happier employees

These team culture changes have also given way to happier employees. They definitely have better work-life balance and more flexibility when it comes to the method of work. But this has also improved employee morale and overall confidence because it increases their sense of autonomy and all a combination of all these aspects makes them more productive. In turn this makes them happier which only fuels their work and efficiency allowing them to deliver high quality work.

Ultimately, isn’t that what is required? Happy employees delivering quality work. The corporate culture changes are proving to have a huge impact on the way people will work in the future. If not entirely, much of the work adjustments being made now will continue in some form in a post-pandemic world. The emerging team cultures are a result of a combination of evolving technologies and a determination to be more productive and collaborative while rejecting a hierarchical work structure.

Summary

Q. Why are multicultural teams a good thing?
A. Multicultural teams enrich the overall quality of discussion and output of the team.

Q. What is the importance of cross-functional collaboration?
A. Cross-functional collaboration makes a project more efficient by having experts from every aspect of the project working on it together. It allows for a culture of learning, respect, and true collaboration while giving way for new and innovative ideas.