| | SEPTEMBER - 2022MANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM8The ask for a more flexible workday is not new. Nor is it solely associated with the global pandemic. Over several years, Telenor's employee engagement surveys have told us that our people want greater freedom to decide when and from where they do their work. Their responses are telling us something interesting about how modern lives are led. At Telenor, we are responding to this by changing our ways of work and our models of leadership.Well before the current crisis a growing number of our people were dividing their time between the office, their home offices or other locations which suited their needs. In fact, our Finnish unit has used this model as a standard since 2012 and has shared many valuable learnings to the rest of the company.One of those learnings is that needs will be different from person to person and between the various phases of a long working life. Which is why flexibility is key. The demand for that flexibility is likely to become a significant differentiator, for talent attraction as well as retention.What the Covid-19 pandemic did trigger was an involuntary exercise in spending extended periods of time away from our normal working environment. This exercise gave us an opportunity to study the dynamics associated with working from home. Some vented their frustration, others were enthusiastic. But is working from home for everyone?Most things associated with the Covid-19 pandemic are extraordinary. This includes employee survey responses and temperature checks we invited our employees to take part in during various stages of lockdown. The results are not going to give us the all the insights we need to plan for the future of work. But there is still much for us to learn, particularly about specific groups who face difficulties.But let's start with the positives. Because there are many. Most Telenor employees reported that their ability to focus on value-added work is greater outside of a busy office environment where they are more likely to get pulled into non-essential meetings. The logistics of balancing family obligations and work is in most cases easier when working from home. It is clear that the rush hour, time-waste, cost, and carbon footprint associated with getting to the office will not be missed. Also, employee productivity has remained stable throughout 2020, suggesting that people are able to do their jobs from home. What is less clear is whether the enthusiasm applies across all age ranges. What about the below 30s, are they as excited as their older colleagues?Our surveys show that some of our younger employees are struggling to maintain their motivation away from the office. When working from home was thrust upon us, most of our employees reported that they felt energized by the thought of keeping the wheels in motion and overcoming a shared challenge. The below-30s told a different story. For many of them, working from home had a negative impact on their job motivation. The below graph illustrates this development as it unfolded in one of our country units, with increasing motivation for all age-groups except those below 30. From DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION: THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING CONNECTED By Sharon Harvey Davis, Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Chief Diversity Officer, AmerenIn MyOpinion
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