EDITOR’S PICK

Managing in the Aftermath of COVID-19 

An ending is in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, as more vaccines become available and people get vaccinated. There is hope that by the summer, life will return to “normal.” But what will that new normal look like? Only one thing is certain: Things will not be like they were before the pandemic. Last March, many business went full virtual, as people who used to commute to the office every day began telecommuting from their couch. And despite all the hassles working from home can entail—juggling child care and homeschooling schedules, blurred demarcations between work hours and family time, and missing in-person interactions with other people—workers actually found themselves being as productive, if even more productive, than they had been in the office. 

As a result, fewer people are going to want to come back to the office, if there is even an office awaiting them. Managers will need to learn how to better use technology and oversee all-remote or hybrid teams of employees, and expect policy shifts that meet the new needs of businesses, as Jeff Schwartz, principal of Deloitte, describes in his book, Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work. In his interview with AMA/MCE, Schwartz details these concepts as well as the new paradigm HR managers are facing. 

AMA/MCE faculty member Haywood Spangler, PhD, shares the results of a survey of AMA/MCE members. One of the most surprising findings is that despite the uncertainty generated by the pandemic, workers managed to rise to the challenges and thrive. And Lauren Trees and Elissa Tucker of APQC identify two big remote work problems and what managers will need to do to fix them. 

In response to the pandemic and to meet the new needs of managers, AMA/MCE continues to shift its offerings. MCE’s remote courses and webinars can help you prepare for future disruption.