What’s next? That is the question everyone is quick phone call, not a videoconference. It may also asking. The future is not what we thought it would be help to set “office hours” for particular groups, share only a few short months ago. tips on how to track time, and announce that there is no expectation that emails will be answered after a In a previous article, we discussed seven broad certain hour. ideas that we thought would shape the global economy as it struggled to define the next normal. In Accelerate best practices around collaboration, this one, we set out seven actions that have come up flexibility, inclusion, and accountability repeatedly in our discussions with business leaders Collaboration, flexibility, inclusion, and around the world. In each case, we discuss which accountability are things organizations have been attitudes or practices businesses should stop, which thinking about for years, with some progress. But they should start, and which they should accelerate. the massive change associated with the coronavirus could and should accelerate changes that foster these values. 1. From ‘sleeping at the office’ to effective remote working Office life is well defined. The conference room is in use, or it isn’t. The boss sits here; the tech Stop assuming that the old ways will come back people have a burrow down the hall. And there are In fact, this isn’t much of a problem. Most executives also useful informal actions. Networks can form we have spoken to have been pleased at how well spontaneously (albeit these can also comprise the sudden increase in remote working has gone. closed circuits, keeping people out), and there At the same time, there is some nostalgia for the is on-the-spot accountability when supervisors “good old days,” circa January 2020, when it was can keep an eye from across the room. It’s worth easy to bump into people at the coffee room. Those trying to build similar informal interactions. TED days are gone. There is also the risk, however, that Conferences, the conference organizer and companies will rely too much on remote working. webcaster, has established virtual spaces so that In the United States, more than 70 percent of jobs while people are separate, they aren’t alone. A can’t be done offsite. Remote work isn’t a panacea software company, Zapier, sets up random video for today’s workplace challenges, such as training, pairings so that people who can’t bump into each unemployment, and productivity loss. other in the hallway might nonetheless get to know each other. Start thinking through how to organize work for a distributed workforce There is some evidence that data-based, at-a- Remote working is about more than giving people distance personnel assessments bear a closer a laptop. Some of the rhythms of office life can’t be relation to employees’ contributions than do recreated. But the norms associated with traditional traditional ones, which tend to favor visibility. work—for example, that once you left the office, the Transitioning toward such systems could contribute workday was basically done—are important. As one to building a more diverse, more capable, and CEO told us, “It’s not so much working from home; happier workforce. Remote working, for example, rather, it’s really sleeping at the office.” means no commuting, which can make work more accessible for people with disabilities; the flexibility For working from home to be sustainable, associated with the practice can be particularly companies need to help their staff create those helpful for single parents and caregivers. Moreover, boundaries: the kind of interaction that used to remote working means companies can draw on a take place in the hallway can be taken care of with a much wider talent pool. 84 What now? Ten actions to emerge stronger in the next normal September 2020