Managing People in the New Normal

Chapter 1 - There Are No Experts in the New Normal! As a reader of this book, the first thing you must let settle in your mind is that when it comes to the working world, there are no experts in this new normal of ours. Well, at least not in 2022 when this book was published. There won’t be any experts for at least the next 3-5yrs. This is simply because all the major developments and challenges taking place in the working world right now are brand new. There is no businessperson or consultant alive that has experience of what is happening within the working world. This is good news for us all. The changes happening in the working world are so new, they are happening even as I write this book. When we use the term “new normal, none of us knows what it is or what it will look like. It is just a term we have coined to describe the present state we find ourselves post-pandemic, a description or prediction of how things may unfold. We know there is a new normal, but the terms are still being figured out. Hence, there are no experts, just a bunch of people trying to figure out what the best way forward could be or should be. If you are in the UK, the implications of Brexit on the working world also need to be considered, especially if you are an employer. Brexit and the pandemic almost happened back-to-back. For organisations, it changed the way they operate, recruit, and manage people changing workplace culture permanently. Some organisations are trying to get back to how everything worked pre-pandemic, this however is only because they lack critical thinkers and opportunity spotters in their leadership. These are the dinosaurs of our time. Other organisations with forward-thinking leaders can see the opportunities the new normal renders. They plan to leverage the opportunity for sustainability, as they can foresee they have no real choice. Worldwide, the new normal presents organisations with a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and platform. One we will likely never have again in our lifetimes. The opportunity is for us all to become experts and consultants in our management, both on a personal and professional level. The two are inextricably linked, a fact traditionally missed by employers when it comes to managing people. The new normal has provided every person of working age the opportunity to collectively affect workplace culture and influence workplace change for the better. We all must grab this opportunity by the horns, take control and run with it. If we do, we have the power to bring about a revolutionary change for the better in the working world. The power to create a major positive impact on organisational behaviour and employee satisfaction worldwide that will benefit and last for generations to come. An opportunity to change the status quo of the workplace, an opportunity so powerful it can rapidly pick up people and economies worldwide post-pandemic. Change is a good thing and something to be embraced, the new normal is all about change. The new normal has allowed us to have a second look and re-evaluate the role of HR, people management, organisational wellbeing, and behaviour. An opportunity to implement a new chain of thought that is a two-way street, mutually beneficial to both the employer and employee. Some employers and managers may say that HR, people management and organisational wellbeing are not on the priority list coming out of the pandemic. It’s more about finances, survival and getting the organisation back on its feet. I have one question for those that see things this way. How can you have a flourishing stable organisation, without a flourishing stable workforce? If you have the answer to that question, you can stop reading this book.