Insights

In the UK, 2021 can be categorised by the two seismic events that have dominated headlines and had an unprecedented and material impact on the way we live and work: the official departure from the EU under Brexit, and the reopening of society after 18 months of Covid-19 restrictions.

Both events are having an enormous impact on the way business leaders consider the future of their workforce and the role the workplace plays.

The Covid pandemic has “put a rocket boost under working-from-home and driving the debate about the purpose of the office” according to NatWest boss Andy McBain.

Businesses have gone through unprecedented change this last year, and there will be more to come. The pandemic has forced companies to re-think everything, including for many their office space.

If you look up the definition of change in the dictionary, it refers to making something different, altering or modifying. We have come to view change as a disruption to normal practice.

Pre-Covid, traditional change management was often a laborious process for many businesses, taking time to implement anything new. Now, businesses are coming to realise that the type of change management required in the wake of the pandemic needs to be much quicker, and more agile.