Steps to Avoid Old Habits Post the Pandemic

Returning to the vocational space, post the pandemic, is an opportunity to introspect, adapt and incorporate beneficial practices that emerged out of this unprecedented reality. The article on Harvard Business Review by Vijay Govindarajan, Anup Srivastava, Thomas Grison, and Adrian Klammer cautions that this is also a critical juncture in which organizations and employees must avoid old habits post the pandemic, taking into account the unharnessed potential that embracing alterations can bring along, in the long run.

To begin with, the very first key to avoid old habits post the pandemic is to recognize the specific alterations that turned out to be beneficial for the organization. Understanding the factors and the reasons that ameliorated the utility of such a transformation will help in comprehending the instrumental function that these changes might have in augmenting the subsequent success of the organization. This will further ensure that such practices are sustained and that they persist in the long run. This will however be possible only if there is a willingness on the part of all stakeholders to replace age-old practices with new alterations keeping an eye on efficacy as the ultimate goal, the article reminds. A critical evaluation of prior norms will help assess the benefits of these new practices along with driving home the necessity of embracing alterations to survive and thrive in this era of evolving reality. The third crucial step to avoid old habits is to quell doubts and misgivings that employees might have in regard to the adoption of the new changes. Only a candid discussion and open communication is the way forward to resolving every form of doubt before such changes can be operationalized, the article states.

The final step must be to transform the new changes into persistent habitual norms by reinforcing them and transplanting them into the operational mechanism of the organization. While adopting changes is never the easiest road to navigate through, the article by Vijay Govindarajan, Anup Srivastava, Thomas Grison, and Adrian Klammer propagates persistence and perseverance as the non-negotiable determinants that will prevent enterprises avoid old habits post the pandemic, in the long run.