Post Lockdown: How Responsible Will You Be?

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

We know that a lockdown does not make the virus go away. It simply slows its spread. Of course, we cannot remain in lockdown forever and at some point the restrictions have to be eased in a controlled systematic way so we can turn the economy back on.

In the South African context there will be protocols that will need to be in place for a workplace to open. How responsible will leadership teams be in assuring that these are strictly adhered to?

For example, it is very likely that the directive will be that industries adopt work-from-home strategies on a more permanent basis and that all staff who can work remotely must be allowed to do so.

That will require a mindset shift from “this whole remote work thing is temporary” to “how do we make this permanent?”

The later will require making sure you plug your current remote work gaps (eg. the skill to manage a remote team or ensuring that staff have necessary virtual work skills)

How diligent will your business be in adhering to the guidelines? Our discipline will determine how long we can last without going back into a total lockdown.