@home or hybrid, remote or back to office - how do companies and the self-employed position themselves flexibly for the time after the pandemic? Five voices on the future of work - from social media consultants to tax advisors.

“BEING PHYSICALLY TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN SPECIAL FOR Us”

The company spokesperson: Johanna Lange-Hegermann is a company spokesperson at sipgate, known for modern teamwork and its campus.

Our learning over the last few months has been: We can do remote working! Without losing our culture. But also that remote working can be quite exhausting. In the dark months, when day-care centres and schools were completely closed, we therefore introduced a six-hour day for everyone for six weeks. At the same salary, of course. Being physically together in one place will always be special for us. But thanks to tools like Miro, Meet and Co., a large part of the teamwork is no problem remotely. We will not give up working from home. It has been proven successful and for many colleagues it has become an indispensable part of their working life. But our campus is still our core, our common meeting place. Even now, teams meet COVID-19 compliant on a daily basis for joint retreats. Others do “remote working at the office”. Our kitchen team provides culinary services on campus. It has an event feel to it - and we want to keep it that way. •

“OUR PROPERTIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE CITY, aRE NOT DESIGNED FOR WORKING AT HOME”

The social media consultant: Thomas Knüwer is founder and co-managing director of the digital consultancy kpunktnull and blogs about the digital transformation under Indiskretion Ehrensache.

Companies should still be able to offer remote working in the future - but do everything they can to make their employees want to work together in the office. Because studies show that remote working creates isolation among employees. At the same time, our properties, especially in the city, are not designed for working at home. For those who cannot afford a large flat, a practical separation of work and private life is not possible. We are already seeing the first studies that point to an increase in depression when working from home. Moreover, every little conversation that used to take place by walking past a colleague now becomes a scheduled video call. This is scheduled for 15 minutes and so the diary fills up in a psychologically crushing way. In companies with a high proportion of non-screen jobs, home office also leads to a perceived separation of these jobs from colleagues: “they” are then allowed to work at home, the workers on the assembly line or in the lab “have” to come in to work - this will divide the workforce. •

”WE NEED TO HAVE AN UNCOMPLICATED EXCHANGE AMONG OURSELVES”

The tax expert: Julia Rölfs-Schuster is a tax consultant, auditor and managing director of Rölfs Business Consulting GmbH.

The most decisive learning was: Remote working works! We are just as accessible and can work on things as in the office. Another learning is: However, just working virtually doesn't work for us in the long run. We need the uncomplicated exchange in passing in order to share all the information for clients. Sometimes information arrives in the accounting department that is needed in the payroll and the transport of information is easier via “hallway chats” than if you have to pick up the phone every time at home. However, it is necessary that we always have some staff in the office. To be able to process and coordinate all incoming and outgoing mail in a timely manner and to maintain the files. Even though we have worked paperlessly in many cases before, a lot of things still arrive in paper form in our industry and have to be processed accordingly. •

“THE INTERPERSONAL LEVEL REMAINS THE MOST IMPORTANT”

The management consultant: Marina Löwe is an executive coach and senior consultant at SLBB and advises managers and teams.

There will be no general agreement for now. In most surveys, employees overwhelmingly want a 40/60 split of remote/office based working. Companies are often still looking for their own position. Here it is important to introduce clear rules, to learn what works, what doesn't and then adapt until it becomes a new natural way of being. In counselling we see that it takes focus and time to learn together, to transfer the experiences and insights into new frameworks. And a hell of a lot of mindfulness for the different needs. Remote working is usually very productive because, for example, no one spontaneously stands at the desk and interrupts the work with a conversation. However, it requires a completely different kind of meeting design and leadership as well as daily organisation. At SLBB we work hybrid. One staff member is currently travelling through Europe for three months and works 10 hours a week from a camper. Others prefer to be physically present. The most important thing remains the interpersonal level. If there is trust and the framework and tasks are clear, the way of working is flexible. •

THE HYBRID WORKPLACE MODEL IS BECOMING A SYMBOL OF THE MODERN EMPLOYER

The digital native: Lisa Schmidt from Socialisa is a self-employed Instagram and workflow coach and has been working with her team in a hybrid workplace model for three years.

The technical infrastructure, fast communication, control instances and of course team spirit among colleagues are certainly among the points why many companies still reject the hybrid working model. However, being able to decide when, how much and from where I work is pure freedom for me in the work context. My team now includes five people from all over Germany, some of whom I have never met in person. We communicate via Slack, our cloud-based project management tool, and of course Zoom. When, from where and how many hours my employees work is their own responsibility, which works extremely well. Among my friends in employment, I observe that the hybrid workplace model is increasingly becoming the symbol of a modern employer. Companies that do not allow their employees to determine where they work might deprive themselves of some high potentials. •

Words Karolina Landowski
Pictures istock, Oliver Tjaden/sipgate, www.peymanazhari.com, PR

5 voices on the future of work