We all know what’s going on. This blog post will not be full of tips about working from home, or tricks to ‘stay sane’. There’s enough of that going around to last several pandemics.
Instead, I like to think about how these the changes we’re going through now might inspire our futures. Are there actually benefits to this experience? I have to believe there are.
For the first weeks, this all felt like a temporary alternate reality, where we’re stuck at home with partners, teenagers, toddlers, and needy pets. We stopped, waited, listened, grabbed our chairs from work and set up offices at home. We’ve kept work moving forward with VPN access, we standardized on video conference and asset-sharing platforms, and got back to work from our dining rooms.
There’s another kind of curve building right now. We all realize that some of what we’re experiencing may be in place for a while. Here are the three things we’ve implemented for the short that will probably be with us in the long term:
CONNECT | We have found creative ways to be together while staying remote. Our website features a new section, burkeMICHAEL+ INSIDERS, with information, resources, access to digital events and engagements.
COLLABORATE | We’ve found new methods for teamwork and sharing. We’ve also initiated fulfillment of quick ship programs to improve people’s work-from-home set ups (you can email us about them). Residential meets commercial, indeed.
CONTINUE | The work continues, and the relationships continue. We miss each other, but every single one of our projects is moving forward, and that is a beautiful thing.
CURVE | As people are permitted to return to work, employees who are thriving while working from home will likely be allowed to continue in some capacity, and employers who recognize that will invest in products and equipment for their home offices.
Here’s one more prediction: Businesses will put renewed value on on collaborative spaces that support connection and reflect culture. Real-world experience with a dispersed workforce, coupled with a slow roll back up to ‘normal,’ mean the spaces we share to do our work will become more important than ever.
And that’s something we can all look forward to.
Mary Frances President + Ringmaster
burkeMICHAEL+