Nokia will continue offering flexible working opportunities for its employees following a company-wide survey.
More flexible working was a growing trend long before COVID-19 hit as people seek to avoid the cost, time, and mental fatigue associated with long commutes, make it more feasible to live further outside of major cities (avoiding the rocketing house and rent prices of inner-cities), and balance commitments such as childcare. For businesses, it reduces the need for large office spaces and connectivity issues won’t impact all employees in the building. For the environment, it helps to reduce carbon emissions and congestion on the roads.
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, said:
“The pandemic forced organisations to change.
Technology gave people the tools to innovate. In many cases, the results have been too good to go back to the old way of doing things.”
Hopefully, we’re now over the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we never know when a new vaccine-dodging strain could force new lockdowns and it’s a question of when – not if – an entirely new pandemic will hit. Businesses that build upon the progress they’ve made throughout the pandemic will be much better prepared to handle rapid change over those which fall back into old processes.
Following a survey of around 26,000 of its employees, Nokia will continue offering at least three days a week of remote working, increased support for flexible working hours, and fully virtual working.
Lundmark added:
“While flexibility and respect have always been at the heart of Nokia, we want to give all our people even greater choice and flexibility over their work, so we are accelerating our transition to become a fully hybrid global workplace.
Some people will choose to work more from home, others will choose mainly to work in offices redesigned to offer more collaborative spaces, and in other places we will secure the right facilities as and when required.”
Most of Nokia’s workforce worked remotely throughout the pandemic and are expected to do so at least until the end of 2021. 91 percent of the survey’s respondents felt that they retained or increased their productivity working from home.
By the end of 2021, Nokia also plans to launch a smart office solution that allows employees to book workspaces and office amenities. The company will release toolkits and guides aimed at helping people managers and teams to establish better, more flexible and sustainable working models.
Improved connectivity – provided by companies such as Nokia – has enabled colleagues to remain connected and able to collaborate often as much, if not more, than prior to the pandemic. Going back to old ways of working has many downsides and few upsides while being incredibly damaging to employee morale.
Observing the companies that have permanently adapted is quite likely a good indicator of their future success. Nokia is planting its flag as being among the forward-looking companies with today’s announcement.
(Photo by Mikey Harris on Unsplash)
Find out more about Digital Transformation Week North America, taking place on November 9-10 2021, a virtual event and conference exploring advanced DTX strategies for a ‘digital everything’ world.
