The pandemic has triggered lasting changes not only in working style

The abrupt shift to remote work and communication in companies, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused lasting changes in the way business operates, including working styles - argued the participants of the debate “Competencies of the future are needed today - time for reskilling”.

- Some of the changes brought about by the pandemic will remain with us forever - predicted Alina Pszczółkowska, Vice-President of AstraZeneca Pharma Poland. As Mrs Pszczółkowska observed, the shift to remote work within her company - which has proved very effective - was just one of the changes. COVID-19 has also affected the company's core business, as the radical change in the functioning of health care triggered changes in the ways of conducting pre-clinical research, as well as in the approach of regulatory agencies.

- The world has changed, we have become digitally competent and we have found that going online makes life easier in many aspects - observed Professor Piotr Wachowiak, Rector and lecturer at the Warsaw School of Economics, who also shared the view that there is no going back to the old habits. The future will require a compromise - we will likely meet halfway, especially since a year and a half of remote social contacts have demonstrated that in many aspects online relations will never replace direct interpersonal contact. Discussions held in a conventional way encourage greater creativity than online meetings.

Alina Pszczółkowska also referred to the shortcoming of remote work and communication, mentioning that many new initiatives in the company were the result of everyday, often accidental, interactions of employees, which were no longer possible after the switch to the new system.

Taking care of mental health

Paweł Poszytek, director general of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, addressed some of the mental challenges of remote work. A survey he conducted on almost a thousand Erasmus project leaders showed that despite high digital and social competences, many of them were unable to cope with stress. On a 1-5 scale, they rated their ability to cope with stress and adapt to changing conditions at just 1.7 points. Had this score been 1 point higher, half of the 30% of Erasmus projects suspended due to the pandemic could have been continued. For this reason, as Mr Poszytek emphasised, psychological support will be of crucial importance now. All the more so, since after the pandemic we will have to optimise processes. Some of the processes will return to their conventional form, but some will continue to be implemented online.

According to Piotr Wachowiak, employers should be prepared for three challenges in the near future. The first is psychological support, which is important both in the case of managers and employees. The second is a changing role of the leader, which should aim now at supportive style of leadership. Research shows that companies that coped best with the pandemic were those that were able to establish good relations with their employees.

The third challenge is providing support to employees to help them work effectively from home.

Sebastian Stępak, president of MSL Group, also predicted that the future of work will rely on a hybrid model. He stressed, however, that it will not be an exact 50/50 or 20/80 model; the total share of remote work in the overall working time will fluctuate and will depend on such factors as the age of the organisation and the age and personal situation of its employees (while young people are open to remote work, they often lack the appropriate conditions in terms of place of work).

The changes triggered by the pandemic, including digitalisation and automation of the economy, will also force a permanent change in the set of competences required by companies and their employees. Such changes are already evident, for example in the increased demand for IT specialists. However, as the participants of the debate pointed out, it is difficult to predict today what specific skills will be needed in five to fifty years. According to Mrs Pszczółkowska, soft competences will be of crucial importance, including such abilities as adaptability, critical thinking, prioritisation and learning skills, the importance of which has been highlighted by the pandemic. AstraZeneca Pharma Poland has been relying on such competences for years.

- We are always looking for the same type of people - open, responsible and nice people - to become a part of our community, regardless of their position - said the President of MSL Group. He also stressed the growing importance of trust - the employee should be a person that the company can rely on.

In this light, educating future talents may seem a daunting challenge. The Rector of the Warsaw School of Economics pointed out that each of us can be a talent, we just need to know how to discover it. That is why it is so important to teach young people values and skills, in addition to disseminating knowledge (especially since we are not able to determine what type of knowledge will be required in ten years). We also need to encourage continuous learning.  This is what the Warsaw School of Economics is trying to do - we are not talking about educating, but rather shaping leaders - stressed Professor Wachowiak, who was also advocating changes in terms of the approach to teaching at schools, which should focus on the skills involving acquiring and processing information, as well as adapting to changes.