Covid 19 coronavirus: Rotorua businesses face 'biggest shake up ever' to the way they work

Workplaces are looking at monumental changes. Photo / Getty Images

Locals face the "biggest shake-up to ever hit the workforce" as companies consider how lessons from the lockdown could help revitalise post-Covid-19 workplaces.

Work arrangements to suit individuals, more remote working and flexible hours could all become commonplace in offices as the country moves down alert levels and back to normality.

And the changes could prove beneficial for both businesses and workers, business management expert Paula O'Kane says, as long as companies are willing to challenge the status quo.

Pre-pandemic times saw the city's office workers putting in long hours at commercial office spaces. Commutes were long in some areas and children were woken early to get to daycare before the workday started.

Now, having been forced to operate out of home offices and connect online during the lockdown, many businesses are looking at how to incorporate some of the measures that have worked well, into a new business model moving forward.

"We don't necessarily want everyone working from home now but we know from research that with trust and strong leadership, as well as clear goals and expectations, employees will work productively from home," O'Kane, an Otago University senior lecturer, said.

"We also know businesses that offer more flexibility have higher productivity across the board and when managers show they trust employees, those employees feel valued and more committed to the company."

O'Kane said a move towards more flexible workplaces would build positive relationships.

"It's about providing a range of options and treating people as individuals if you can.

"I am hopeful we will see some changes as it has the potential to restore a better work-life balance for many workers."

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce head Bryce Heard. Photo / File

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce head Bryce Heard said local businesses had given feedback about how effective new work systems had been.

"Speaking for the Chamber, our team has enjoyed working from home and is getting work done. With a degree of trust and flexibility, we've discovered working from home can be beneficial.

"Other businesses have told us how staff are becoming more accustomed to things like online meetings and those aspects of the business could become more of a component moving forward.

"That'll be a topic of conversation for each business but I think when your back is against the wall and you're forced to explore all your options, things you didn't think were possible become a reality and actually work quite well."

Personnel Resources Rotorua manager Angelique Scott said she had been hearing about how new systems were working well for businesses.

"That's the first step. As we move out of lockdown businesses will be ready to readjust to the new normal. It's important businesses and employees are open to new ways of doing things."

Scott said her team had already been "bombarded" with CVs and many of those candidates were requested to work some or all of their hours from home.

"Businesses have to have that trust in employees and equally, employees have to be resilient and adaptable to make it work."

She said changes would vary from business to business but the possibilities were endless.

"This will be the biggest shake-up to ever hit the workforce and how it functions. There are people who have never worked from home in their lives. There will be a big readjustment period but we will see changes."

The Shine Collective team in one of their Zuis (Zoom hui). Photo / Supplied

Jacky James, director of local business The Shine Collective, said the company had always been a flexible, family-focused workplace but the lockdown had proved valuable in highlighting where there was room for changes.

"Because we regularly work onsite at client operations and at home, it hasn't been too much of an adjustment during lockdown. The biggest difference for us has been having all of our client and stakeholder engagement via phone and Zui (Zoom Hui).

"Pre-Covid, most of the team travelled around the region several times a week, with some regularly travelling up to Auckland and across to Taranaki. One of the things we had been conscious of was our carbon footprint, so this new way of operating has provided an immediate solution."

James said when the team returned to the office, things would be different.

"The whole of New Zealand has demonstrated how much work can be done remotely, and how much more work we can actually get done in a day without needing to commute.

"We will fully support our people if they choose to work from home a few days a week, and I expect we will need to travel to meetings less than we have before."

James said in a lot of ways, this new way of working was an opportunity for businesses.

"It will be challenging undoubtedly but the significant and ongoing improvements on carbon footprint reduction, providing more balance for staff and a realisation how important those people in your bubble are, could make a generational difference."

Being able to tailor the work situation of individual staff is one silver lining Bay of Plenty company Comvita has identified from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company migrated all possible positions to home-based offices a week before the country went into mandatory lockdown.

Now, leaders are working on a policy to allow for more flexibility in how staff work their hours and from where.

Comvita chief corporate services officer Holly Brown. Photo / Supplied

Chief corporate services officer Holly Brown said the company had remote working prior to the lockdown but what the past five weeks had highlighted was the benefits it enabled.

"We are keen to encourage that flexibility we already offered but at that next level. Flexible time without the constraints of the nine to five mindset.

"It's not a one size fits all approach but about supporting our staff's individual needs. If it works for our people, it will hopefully work for us.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website