News and analysis Leader
Editor’s letter
What a month. It’s
words the collective
difficult to put into
anxiety and unease we are
all feeling at the moment.
Words will probably
never do it justice. I am
sure many of you have
been working around
the clock to keep your
employees safe, well and
connected in these
uncertain times. For
this I send a sincere
thank you.
adapting to remote working like never before.
The casual kitchen chats while making a
cup of tea have been swapped for Google
hangouts and ‘can you hear me? Can you see
me?’ At the time of going to press we have no
visibility on when this period of self-isolation
and restricted movement will be over, and I’m
doubtful by the time this issue is in readers’
hands that much progress will have been made
on this front.
However difficult this period may be it’s
essential that leaders remain positive and lead by
example. Keyworkers and frontline emergency
services are doing an incredible job caring for
our communities, and the best thing we can do
for them is to stay at home as much as possible
and continue on with life in a new way.
We have perhaps transitioned
into the ‘future of work’ much
sooner than we anticipated, and
once this pandemic has passed
I believe how and where we work
Workplaces have been forced
will have changed forever.
into company-wide remote
working pilot schemes, which will
hopefully deliver concrete results.
I’ve no doubt that despite myriad
business challenges many employees
will be surprised to see their
productivity levels matched, if not
improved, by having the freedom to choose when
and how they work. There will certainly be lots
for HR and the wider business community to
take on board.
In the meantime I hope you are looking after
yourselves as well as the rest of your teams. It’s
easy for the lessons we learn to go out of the
window at times of crisis and there will inevitably
be many difficult conversations to have and
decisions to be made over the coming months.
You may not have all the answers but simply
being there is enough until you do. We all
deserve compassion – and that includes
yourself. Sending well wishes to every single
one of you. HR
Jo Gallacher
Editor
HR magazine
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