This week in Careers, we looked at what could be our ‘new normal’ in the workplace and how Covid-19 has accelerated the future of work.
While the pandemic caused a lot of change to take place incredibly fast, the steps to bring the world out of the crisis must be slow and gradual and, as such, discussions around the new normal will be ongoing and ever changing.
This week, Morgan McKinley released its latest salary report, highlighting which sectors have weathered the crisis. Unsurprisingly, the pharma sector has been performing well, and the report came at a time when pharma giant MSD announced that it is on track with its recruitment plans, hoping to fill 200 roles by the end of the year.
So, for those who will be going for job interviews in the near future, what do they need to think about? Hays’ Chris Dottie outlined seven questions to ask in a job interview post-Covid, helping candidates prepare for a new role in the new era of work.
While there’s a lot of uncertainty around what exactly the new normal will look like in the workplace, one thing that appears to be here to stay in some shape or form is remote working. And while it’s great that so many organisations were able to bring the necessary infrastructure to help their employees go remote, a further level of care will be needed to ensure the workforce doesn’t miss out on the positive working experience that can come with an office environment.
Employers also need to consider how training will be implemented if remote working continues. Roop Bhumbra, head of talent development at Hays UK and Ireland, shared her advice for training remote teams.
Another major discussion on the cards for the new normal is the prospect of a four-day week. Karen Foster of Canada’s Dalhousie University explored the history of the four-day week and how it could be applied in the post-Covid workplaces of today.
And if you’ve realised in recent months that you enjoy working remotely and want to make it a permanent fixture in your life, we looked at 11 companies that are hiring for remote roles.
Outside of conversations about the new way of working, we also spoke to Dr Margaret Heffernan about her journey from the BBC to business leadership and Paola Mendoza-Yu about her career as a UX designer.
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